More than 100 rape suspects charged in radical overhaul of investigations

More than 100 suspects have been charged with rape in County Durham and Darlington over the last year as part of a radical overhaul of the way sexual offences are investigated.

Under Operation Soteria, a pioneering victim-focused approach to investigations, Durham Constabulary has more than doubled the proportion of suspected sex offenders who are brought before the courts.

The improvement sends out a clear message to survivors of sexual offences – “we believe you”.

And it sends an equally clear message to offenders that police will thoroughly investigate their crimes and do everything we can to bring them to justice.

Durham Constabulary was one of four pathfinder forces to take part in a trial of Operation Soteria a transformative new approach, which improves support for victims and puts offenders and their behaviour under deeper scrutiny.

It brings police forces and prosecutors together with academics to use evidence and new insight to enable forces to transform their response to investigating crime, using the best practice to develop a new National Operating Model for all 43 police forces in England and Wales.

An inspection report, published today by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, has highlighted the good progress made by Durham and other forces in transforming the investigation of rape and sexual offences.

Most significantly, every one of Durham’s 300 detectives has undergone specialist training led by Dr Patrick Tidmarsh, a world-leading authority in sexual offending.

That process includes myth-busting training, with a survivor of rape sharing her powerful experiences, both of crime and the criminal justice system.

The groundbreaking training covers the psychology of sex offenders, how they target their victims and the impact on survivors.

The report quoted a Durham officer, who told inspectors: “We don’t test victims’ credibility. That doesn’t happen in this force.”

Among the other innovative practices highlighted in the report were:

• A new system which allows Durham to track its performance in dealing with rape and sexual offences and analyse how effectively we are investigating crimes and protecting survivors.
• A new process to manage high-risk rape suspects, even if they haven’t yet been convicted.
• A system which allows individual investigators protected time for rape and serious sexual assault cases to ensure they can properly manage their workload.

Officers have also increased the number of early consultations with colleagues from the Crown Prosecution Service, resulting in better case management and a higher proportion of charges.

In 2023, Durham Constabulary charged 103 suspects with rape and 89 suspects with sexual assault.

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Lawrence, Head of Crime at Durham Constabulary, said: “Rape and serious sexual assaults are among the most complex investigations we deal with. We know that charging and conviction rates are too low and we need to improve if we are to get victims the justice they deserve.

“But the evidence is that we are heading in the right direction. Operation Soteria has allowed us to take an open and honest look at the way we work within our own organisation, how we work with partner agencies and how we can improve our investigation of sexual offences.

“Survivors of sexual offences can have confidence that if they come forward to report to the police, we will believe them and they will be treated seriously and sensitively by our officers.

“There is still work to be done, but Operation Soteria is helping bring about a fundamental and lasting improvement in how we deal with rape and sexual offences and how we deliver justice for victims”.