More than 250 rape suspects have been arrested in County Durham and Darlington this year as police launch a new approach to investigating sexual offences.
During the month of June, 17 suspected offenders were arrested on suspicion of rape in the area. In November, the number had risen to 32. The total number of suspects arrested so far in 2022 is 255.
Investigators at Durham Constabulary are putting offenders and their behaviour under deeper scrutiny and have developed new systems to identify repeat suspects for sexual offences.
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The changes have been made as part of a radical research project called Operation Soteria. It involves independent academics in the field of criminal justice using their expertise to make a fresh and rigorous examination of policing approaches to rape and serious sexual offences.
Durham Constabulary is one of four pathfinder forces across the country taking part in Operation Soteria, following an initial trial in Avon and Somerset. The lessons learned will be rolled out to every police force in the UK to bring more offenders to trial and cut the time victims have to wait for justice.
Staff from relevant departments are being given specialist rape training, including expert analysis of how sex offenders think and try to avoid detection. Over the last few months, 120 officers have undergone expert training led by Dr Patrick Tidmarsh, a world-leading authority on sexual offending.
Officers from the force have also increased the number of early consultations with colleagues from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This is believed to lead to better case management and therefore more convictions.
Earlier this year, academics from six universities carried out a deep dive review of the Durham Constabulary’s approach to rape and sexual offences. It included more than 6,300 investigations over four years.
They looked at how the force handles suspects, investigations, repeat offenders, victim engagement, officer training and data management. Durham Constabulary is now using the academic research to build on its performance and generate further improvements to its investigation of sexual offences.
Among the positive findings discovered by the researchers were:
- Durham Constabulary already achieves one of the highest charging rates for rape in the country.
- Durham investigations are relatively speedy, delivering a swifter response for victims.
- An overwhelming culture in Durham in which survivors are treated with respect, are listened to and their testimony is taken seriously.
- A widespread understanding among detectives about pervasive rape myths and a willingness to challenge them whenever and wherever they surfaced.
- Innovative intelligence gathering from suspects, such as downloading data from a wider range of household devices.
However, the research did identify that the force needs to improve in the following areas:
- Specialist training for officers in engaging with victims.
- Regular contact between investigators and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors, who provide impartial advice and practical support to survivors.
- Improved data recording which would make it easier to flag up previous allegations against the same suspect.
- Earlier contact with CPS colleagues to identify and address potential problems in the investigation.
Detective Chief Superintendent David Ashton said: "Our officers work tirelessly to protect victims and bring offenders to justice, but charging rates and conviction rates are too low to give survivors the justice they deserve. We need to do better and we are determined to improve.
"This is independent research and some of the findings in Durham are very encouraging. It is clear that survivors of sexual offences can have the confidence to report to the police and can have trust that they will be treated seriously and sensitively by our officers when they do.
"It is also true that some of the findings make for uncomfortable reading but, if policing is to deliver the justice that survivors deserve and achieve genuine sustained change, then we all have to hold a mirror up to ourselves and take a long, hard look – we have to accept that we need to improve and learn and be open to fresh thinking.
"Operation Soteria offers a chance for policing to learn from our collective mistakes and collective best practice and commit to bringing about lasting improvement by making fundamental change where fundamental change is necessary."
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