Merseyside Police faced criticism after an officer sent a letter to a woman 'deterring' them from making a sexual assault complaint.
The letter, seen by The Guardian, was sent by a detective sergeant in June, telling the woman "there will be no realistic prospect of a prosecution" because there were no witnesses or CCTV. It left the woman feeling distressed, according to Lorraine Wood, operations manager of RASA (Rape and Sexual Assault) Merseyside, which is supporting her.
Merseyside Police apologised to the woman after The Guardian raised her case, but it fuelled concerns about the policing of sexual offences. Although this is the first time RASA has seen such a comment in writing, Lorraine said they've often heard reports of victims being encouraged to drop complaints, with "nine out of 10" victims saying they get a negative response. She said: "The woman had not even given a statement, so how the police could make that decision is beyond me."
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The letter, sent on June 13, told the woman: "In order to proceed we would require a video interview from yourself for the formal complaint. After this is obtained we could look to interview the suspect and the evidence would be reviewed, however without anything supporting such as a witnesses [sic] or CCTV there will be no realistic prospect of a prosecution."
Former Merseyside Police officer Chantelle Lunt, now an activist and founder of Operation Withdraw Consent, told the ECHO: "It's not unsurprising. I've seen officers do it because they didn't want the paperwork, they didn't want the headache, and their interpretation is it won't go through.
"It just shows how the criminal justice system absolutely devalues and downgrades sexual assaults, rapes and violence against women to the point they're not even looking to do real detective work or any police investigation. Do you remember the time when there wasn't CCTV? How likely is it that you're going to have a witness of a rape? Do you think somebody was going to be in the room?"
Assistant chief constable Chris Green said this issue has not previously been raised with Merseyside Police and the force is "committed to ensuring that we fully support victims of rape and sexual offences, whilst preventing further offences from happening".
ACC Green said: "Victims of sexual offences and rape have gone through traumatic ordeals that can leave psychological scars that can last a lifetime and it is only fitting they expect to be treated with empathy, respect and understanding from the moment they make that first call."
He added: "We have now been able to review the circumstances around this and sadly I can say that the victim did not receive the high level of service that the force expects and she deserved - this included a letter that did not demonstrate the level of sensitivity and empathy that we would expect. A senior officer has spoken to the victim and apologised for any additional distress our response has caused and we are now working with her to ensure she gets the support she should have had from the beginning."
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell has made tackling violence against women and girls a priority since being elected to the role in 2021. A spokesperson for her office said: "The Commissioner has discussed this incident with the Chief Constable, and she is aware that an apology, quite rightly on this occasion, has been issued and that the force is working with the victim to ensure she receives appropriate support."
The woman who received the letter later decided to give a video interview to police, after initially feeling there was no point. But low prosecution and conviction rates for sexual offences remain a reality, with only 1.6% of rapes recorded by English and Welsh police forces in 2020 resulting in a charge or summons.
Sexual offence cases see delays of around four years before going to trial, double the length for other crimes. In the first three months of this year, 370 trials were postponed last minute due to a lack of advocates to conduct them, with more than a quarter of those being "serious sexual or violent offences", according to Nina Grahame QC, who defends the most serious Crown Court cases.
Campaigners say this is symptomatic of a criminal justice system crumbling under the pressure of cuts to police, courts and the Crown Prosecution Service, along with low wages around £12,000 a year for junior criminal barristers. This has led to an exodus from the profession and prolonged period of strike action by criminal barristers.
Ms Grahame said: "Even if the prosecutions make it to the Crown Court, what the Criminal Barristers Association research has shown most recently is that, despite the fact that there are specialist police officers, specialist teams dealing with sex offences, and there are specialist advocates to prosecute and defend, and specialist judges as well - despite all of that, the delays in bringing these cases to trial are so severe now because of the backlog, we think nearly half of all rape complainants actually abandon the proceedings themselves."
She is keen not to discourage others from reporting crimes to police, or from pursuing a case to trial, saying there are professionals who'll help "to the best of our ability". She said additional evidence beyond the word of a complainant, such as CCTV or eye witnesses, are not necessary for a prosecution. While there is "a test of a realistic prospect of conviction", it is not the place of police to make that call, rather "that test is applied very sensibly by specialist lawyers".
She said: "The poor complainant in this case was treated extraordinarily badly by Merseyside Police. That should never have happened. The complainant shouldn't be discouraged, despite the problems, because there are specialist officers, prosecution teams, advocates and judges to help to deal with these sensitive cases properly. There are people there, but the numbers are diminishing, and that's the problem."
She put the blame on the government, saying: "The police are struggling, they're feeling underfunded and under pressure. The Crown Prosecution Service is underfunded and under resourced, and with too few personnel. So you're already starting to build in problems from the very beginning, and that impacts upon a complainant because they won't feel that they're getting the liaison, the feedback, the support that they require from the professionals who are supposedly supporting them."
Merseyside Police encouraged people who've suffered the "terrible ordeal" of rape and sexual assault to come forward and speak to the force, saying: "They will be supported with dignity and respect, and we will do everything we can to investigate their report so that offenders can be brought to justice."
But Chantelle questioned the impact of such cases on victims who worry they won't be believed because no CCTV or witnesses saw what happened to them, or on perpetrators "able to offend and offend and offend and become serial perpetrators because they've read that and been emboldened by the fact that as long as they're careful enough not to be near CCTV, and there are no witnesses - which there are unlikely to be with sexual assaults - then you can crack on".
ACC Green said: "Following feedback from victims and survivors across Merseyside, we have reviewed how we work with victims of rape and sexual assault and have recently implemented revised vulnerability training which is based on a trauma informed service that is delivered with empathy and understanding.
"That training, which includes firsthand experience of a rape victim, will continue to take place over the coming year and will include frontline officers, control room staff, Response and Resolution responding officers, investigation, Professional Standards and Local Policing.
"Merseyside Police believes it is vital that victims of rape and sexual offences have the high level of service they deserve and in 2010 we set up the specialist Unity Team, which is dedicated to investigating and supporting victims of rape through the whole criminal justice process, from reporting the incident to seeing a case through the courts and beyond. Working with the victim specialist officers at Unity are able to ensure all crucial evidence can be presented to the court, maximising the chance of conviction.
"As well as specialist police officers, the team also includes lawyers, specially trained officers (STOs) and detectives, and Unity works in partnership with independent sexual violence advisors (ISVAs), sexual assault referral centre crisis workers (SARC), and health professionals to provide the best possible service to victims.
"They are supported by other officers working in our Protecting Vulnerable People Units across the force, who are also trained to deal with sexual offences which can include domestic settings and young people. We have also ensured that constables in our Emergency Incident Response Team have an enhanced level of training in dealing with initial reports of sexual offences.
"We wholly understand that when a victim comes forward to report an allegation of this nature that it can be painful and traumatic for them to recount the ordeal they have suffered. I want to reassure anyone, who is a victim of rape or sexual abuse, that if they can find the strength to come forward and speak to us, we will do everything within our power to bring the offenders to justice."
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