There is continuing concern over Rasso prosecution and conviction rates. There were 70,633 rapes recorded by police in the year to September last year but just 459 convictions in the 2022 calendar year.
The Guardian sent freedom of information requests to all 43 police forces in England and Wales, asking them how many vacancies they had for specialist Rasso officers on 1 June. From the 23 usable responses, the unfilled posts ranged from zero to two in five.
In May, a coroner at the inquest into the death of a rape victim who later fell off a bridge, expressed concern, in a prevention of future deaths report, that 40 detectives in Devon and Cornwall police were working on 600 cases in January, while there were 22 vacancies. The senior coroner Andrew Cox said: "This is bound to have an impact on the amount or quality of work that can be done."
Deniz Uğur, the deputy director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said the results show that police forces "are not prioritising tackling sexual violence".
"Rape and other sexual offences are highly traumatic for victims and survivors, and disproportionately perpetrated against women and girls, so they require a specialist and sensitive response," she said.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 28, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 28, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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