Thousands of serious sex offences reported to Sussex Police since 2021
Fewer than one in ten have resulted in a suspect being charged, though
More than 13,000 cases of rape and serious sexual assault were reported to Sussex Police between 202122 and 2023/24.
The figures were shared during a meeting of the Police & Crime Panel attended by Commissioner Katy Bourne.
A report to the panel showed that there had been year-on-year increases in the total number of sex offences recorded in Sussex.
In 2021/22 there were 4,340. That increased by 3% to 4,471 in 2022/23 and by 2% to 4,549 in 2023/24.
When it came to rape on its own, the figures rose by 6% while other serious sexual offences rose by 4%.
The report added that the increases reflected the national picture over the same period.
When it came to charges brought against offenders, the figures have increased but remain low – far below 10%.
Between September 30 2022 and June 30 2024, the number of charges brought increased from 44 rape cases (3.5%) to 123 cases (6.7%).
For serious sexual assaults over the same period, the number of charges brought increased from 114 cases (5.7%) to 177 cases (6.9%).
Regarding the figures, Mrs Bourne said: “Is it where I want it to be? Absolutely not. The ambition is to get them even higher – but the trajectory is going in the right direction.
“That’s got to be good news for all victims of this crime.”
Speaking about her role in holding the force to account for how it improved its response to victims, she referred to a unit called Fides – named after the Roman goddess of trust.
It was set up by her office in January and took on eight retired detectives and people with investigative experience to work with victims of rape and sexual assault, whose cases would either take a long time to investigate or who, for whatever reason, didn’t want to go forward with an investigation.
Over the past year, £1.6m has been spent on commissioning 11 organisations to provide 25 support services to victims of rape, serious sexual offences and sexual abuse.
The grant value over the duration of the contracts comes to nearly ÂŁ5m.