The force now has a rape charging rate of 7.83 per cent in the year to January and has doubled the number of cases being referred to the CPS.ĭetective Superintendent Myra Ball, of Cheshire Police, said: 'If an offender looking at these figures is in a potion to say I'm more likely to be convicted that's a preventative measure I do want them to hear. 'Early advice has been critically important for us.'Īnd in Cheshire police have adopted Operation Soteria's principles without being officially part of the five-force pilot to yield much improved rape charge rates.
'Driving early advice was really key - coming together as a partnership right at the beginning - or as early as possible and having that discussion between the lawyer and the officer.'ĭetective Chief Inspector Edward Yaxley added: 'We've been working through the Operation Soteria recommendations and that project for us is defining how we operate well into the future - it's been a real partnership. 'So we've been working our absolute socks off to try to improve that, especially over the last 18 months and we are starting to see some green shoots. Police and prosecutors have faced fierce criticism for failing to get a grip on rape offences with reports running at a record high of 70,330 in the year to March but with only 1.3 per cent of those charged.Īnd since 2015-16 prosecutions and convictions for adult rape offences have dropped by 59 per cent and 47 per cent respectively.įive forces have trialled the Operation Soteria review which saw a team of academics make key recommendations including for investigations to focus on the suspect's behaviour rather than that of the victim. It includes dismissing unnecessary lines of enquiry or focusing police requests for information such as limiting the scope of data retrieved from a victim's mobile phone. The programme - known as Operation Soteria - has seen officers liaising with Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers at an earlier stage of an investigation to streamline the police's workload. Rape suspects are being brought before courts at more than treble typical rates in parts of the country, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.Ī ground-breaking scheme to revolutionise police rape and sexual offences investigations has led to significant jumps in the number of rape suspects being charged in some force areas.