NEVER AGAIN
After 54 rape cases reopened, police assure victims that past mistakes will not be repeated
NO rape case will ever be closed again following an investigation into detectives who wrote off victims’ attack claims.
We exclusively revealed in 2014 how 54 cases previously investigated by Northumbria Police’s rape investigation team had been reopened amid fears officers may have incorrectly ‘no-crimed’ some offences. An investigation, code-named Operation Crystal, was launched which saw specialist officers visit the victims to let them know the allegations they made would be re-examined.
Meanwhile a number of top police officers were moved off the rape team and were warned they could face disciplinary action over their conduct.
Operation Crystal has now concluded and The Chronicle can reveal:
As a result of the probe no rape reported to Northumbria Police will ever be ‘nocrimed’ again, and the cases will remain open even if the attackers are never traced;
60 officers were subject to misconduct investigations, and two were found to have cases to answer for gross misconduct;
Only one person was charged in connection with the re-opened cases, but was cleared in court.
Northumbria Police’s Temporary Deputy Chief Constable, Darren Best, said the force has learned from the failures of the past - and believes the result of Operation Crystal was an improvement in the way rape is investigated and victims looked after.
He said: “It is important our officers can deliver the best possible levels of service, and they can do that best when they are able to carry out their duties with confidence and in the knowledge they will be appropriately supported by the organisation.
“In 2014 we apologised for any distress caused or failures on our part and we do so again now. Almost four years on, the impact has been to greatly improve how Northumbria Police investigate rape, which in turn has put the force ahead of others in supporting vulnerable victims.”
Operation Crystal was launched after an audit by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) identified some rape cases may have been incorrectly ‘no-crimed.’
This prompted then Chief Constable Sue Sim to launch a review of all dropped rape reports going back to 2011. After examining 153 cases the review team identified 54 that needed to be re-opened.
Officers then had to approach the victims and let them know mistakes could have been made in the past. Temporary DCC Best explained: “All complainants were visited with the support of specialist officers. Understandably, some did not want to reopen their cases after the passage of time.
“However, a number of cases were fully re-investigated. Of those, one case led to someone being charged with rape and they were subsequently found not guilty.”
Of the 60 officers investigated, 21 received management action (words of advice) for performancerelated issues and 22 attended misconduct meetings.
Nine officers were provided with management action (words of advice) after a finding of misconduct. However, it was deemed not necessary for them to attend misconduct meetings.
Two officers were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct. One attended a misconduct hearing and was dismissed. The other resigned prior to any disciplinary proceedings. One officer retired during the inquiry and five had no further action taken against them. It is feared the officer who was sacked could have stopped a vile paedophile in his tracks while protecting ten more victims from abuse.
Bahmani Ahmadi was branded one of the UK’s “most dangerous” sex predators after he was jailed in 2015 for a string of sexual offences against girls as young as 11.
But it emerged in court police missed a vital opportunity to snare Ahmadi in 2012. Ahmadi, from Benwell, Newcastle, was arrested when the first of his young victims came forward. But the officer dealing with the complaint did not interrogate his mobile or refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, and he was released with no further action. Had the device been examined, it could have revealed he was actively grooming young girls for sex. By the time Ahmadi was arrested again in 2014 he had gone on to commit sex offences against more than ten vulnerable girls.
Sue Pearce, co-CEO of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland, a charity that supports victims, said the scandal had affected victims’ confidence in police. However, she believes Northumbria Police’s actions during the Operation Sanctuary investigations into sexual exploitation had helped rebuild trust.
“It think it’s constantly ongoing,” she said. “A few years ago we had Operation Crystal where the police had ‘no-crimed’ these cases. But then we had Operation Sanctuary recently and confidence has gone up again.”
Temp DCC Best has vowed anyone who reports a sexual offence will be believed and the case fully investigated.
He added: “Northumbria Police enjoys extremely high levels of victim satisfaction.
“We firmly believe that this level of public confidence has contributed to an increase in the number of rape complaints we receive.
“I want to personally reassure anyone reporting such crimes to Northumbria Police that they can be confident we will listen to them, take them seriously, investigate thoroughly and bring offenders to justice whenever we can.
“To be clear, we are absolutely committed to ensuring the service offered to victims of serious sexual crime is of the very highest standard.”
We are committed to ensuring the service offered to victims of serious sexual crime is of the very highest standard Darren Best