A Sex crime is reported to police every five hours
NORTH Wales saw the biggest spike in the number of sex crimes being reported to the police of anywhere in the UK.
On average, a sex offence was reported every five hours in the 12 months up to September 2016, and in total there were 1,694 complaints made to the North Wales force, an increase of 38%.
Senior officers yesterday said the figures showed victims were becoming more confident about reporting sex crimes, but children’s charities said the figures were worrying because so often youngsters were the victims of those crimes.
North Wales Police Detective Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones said: “We have significantly increased specialist resources to deal with these types of crime and provide on-going care and support to victims.
“This approach is working, with more people than ever willing to come forward in the knowledge that North Wales Police will investigate, will treat victims sensitively and will offer them support throughout the process.
“We have increased resources in our Amethyst team, which investigates rape offences and invested in our Onyx team which coordinates investigations into child sexual exploitation. We have also expanded our capacity to investigate offences online.
“By being proactive in this way, we are investigating more offences and protecting the most vulnerable vic- tims in society.
“We are putting continued emphasis on investigating all forms of domestic abuse so that we increase the trust and confidence of victims to come forward and we work closely with partner agencies to provide victims with support.”
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which recorded the figures, said the figures don’t reflect a current rise in sex crimes being committed, and pointed to high profile cases such as the Jimmy Savile abuse scandal, Operation Yewtree and, more recently, the football abuse allegations.
An NSPCC Cymru / Wales spokesman said: “The rise in the number of sex offences recorded in North Wales is worrying because we know that many of these are crimes committed against children.
“It is clear that more victims are coming forward and reporting non-recent sexual offences, and it is important that they continue to do so, confident they will be listened to and action taken. Child sexual abuse can have a life-long effect on its victims and it is vital that all those reporting recent or non-recent abuse are given the help and support necessary to overcome what has happened to them.”
If an adult is worried about a child they can call the NSPCC 24/7 on 0808 800 5000 in confidence. Help for children and young people is available through ChildLine on 0800 1111.