Special investigators meant to hunt down rapists are being directed to police football matches and festivals, with victims waiting up to four years for their alleged attackers to be brought to justice, according to the official police inspectorate.
In some cases, long delays mean victims abandon supporting prosecutions, threatening the survival of attackers.
A report by Her Majesty’s Police, Fire and Rescue Service also found that half of rape investigators are not fully qualified and are still in training to deal with complex and sensitive sexual assault cases.
The findings come as police chiefs have vowed to treat the epidemic of rape and sexual violence as seriously as terrorism.
The inspection concerned Operation Soteria, which aims to turn the tide of rape and sexual violence. It broadly supported the plan and noted early signs of progress, but noted delays, a lack of resources and information.
Lead researcher Michelle Skeer said that of the nine groups reviewed, victims were “often” delayed by up to two years in their cases. In two groups, he said, they ran into much larger four-year delays. Skeer declined to name the troops.
According to the report, teams were overwhelmed, and in one case, a victim did not receive an update after reporting an attack in 2021 because investigators were so busy.
According to the report, Rape and Serious Sexual Offenses (Rasso) investigators often have a heavy workload and were directed to fill other gaps in policing: “In half of the forces we inspected, Rasso staff are routinely directed to support events such as football matches and festivals . . .
“The force should understand that this means that Rasso investigators end up canceling meetings with victims or delaying arrests. It just adds to their workload pressure.”
The report stated: “We found that in almost every group, half of the Rasso teams are people who are not fully qualified and are still training.”
Regarding the delays, the inspection agency stated: “Victims often wait at least two years for their case to be processed. In two groups, they waited up to four years. Delays and uncertainty make it much more likely that victims will withdraw support from the case.”
At the time of the inspection, Soterian had deployed 19 troops. By the end of this year, all forces in England and Wales are due to do so.
Skeer said: “The criminal justice system has failed victims of rape and serious sexual offenses for too long.
“Early signs of positive development are being seen. For example, new training is helping investigators understand victims and their reactions to trauma. Under Soteria, investigators are also evaluating the broader context of the crime, including intelligence and digital evidence on Rasso’s suspect.
“But improvements are needed to deliver Operation Soteria effectively. For example, some leaders did not fully understand Soteria or the benefits it offered. We found resources in digital forensics, analytics, victim support and investigative teams.
The report calls for improvements and also warns that “few forces actively target repeat Rasso suspects” – responsible for one in four crimes – and forces should improve their knowledge of when and how protection orders are triggered.
The inspector general said police should be tougher on allegations of suspects breaching bail conditions, saying: “The suspect went to the victim’s home. They were recorded on a video doorbell camera. But although this breached their bail conditions, police decided it was not serious enough to arrest them.
It warns that such a case can embolden the suspect and deter the victim from supporting the prosecution.
The report called for the detective recruitment crisis to be fixed and said: “One top manager of the rape investigation team said 45 per cent of their detective positions were vacant.” They told us they had no idea how to fill them.
Harriet Wistrich, Center for Women’s Justice, said victims suffered delays and had to fight for the simplest of things: “Rape cases going through the system are constantly delayed – there are many reasons for this, many related to resources, not just the police but the criminal justice system as a whole – but survivors say that they can wait months even for an update on the investigation and have to chase constantly.”
Rape charges are now 2.6 percent, and the police are promising to improve the number of scandals in which officers have assaulted women and where the force has sometimes overlooked the danger they pose.
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