Concern at lack of investigation into rape claims

One in 10 cases ‘ incorrectly dismissed’

NEARLY ONE in 10 rapes which are reported to police in Yorkshire then cancelled should have been fully investigated, figures show.

Data obtained from the region’s four police forces show that seven out of 81 rape allegations ( nine per cent) which were cancelled had been incorrectly dismissed.

Some 16 per cent of all other sexual offences cancelled had also been wrongly dismissed, while one Yorkshire force failed 20 per cent of rape complainants and 40 per cent of sexual offence complainants whose cases were cancelled.

Police forces will cancel recorded crimes if they believe an offence did not actually occur.

The data, disclosed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary ( HMIC) following inspections of the forces’ crime recording and data integrity, showed that in 30 cases out of 156 where crimes

were cancelled, police did not tell the victim.

Humberside Police incorrectly cancelled four rape allegations and eight sexual offence reports, accounting for 20 and 40 per cent of cancelled reports respectively, and were rated as “Requires Improvement” in a 2018 HMIC inspection.

West Yorkshire Police wrongly cancelled one rape allegation out of 19 and one sexual offence out of 18, according to findings also from a 2018 inspection. Despite this, the force was rated as “Outstanding” in a recent inspection.

South Yorkshire Police incorrectly cancelled one rape allegation out of 18 and one sexual offence out of 20 according to an inspection in 2018 rating the force as “Requires Improvement”. However, a subsequent inspection of the force this year found clear improvement.

North Yorkshire Police wrongly cancelled one out of 22 rape allegations and three out of 22 sexual offences, and was rated “Good” in the 2019 inspection.

A spokesman for the National PoliceChiefs’Council( NPCC) said forces “never close a case if they are merely unclear as to whether a crime happened or not”.

The spokesman said: “We are working to further improve the accuracy of crime reporting, which is governed by detailed counting rules set out by the Home Office.”