Record number of sexual offences recorded in Chesterfield

Charity Victim Support said the rise in sexual offences comes as victims' faith in the criminal justice system is failing and urged the police and Crown Prosecution Service to "do better and start delivering justice".

Office for National Statistics figures show Derbyshire Constabulary recorded 372 sexual offences in Chesterfield in the year to September – up from 325 during the previous 12 months and the highest since equivalent records began in the year to September 2007.

It follows a trend across England and Wales, as police forces logged a record 199,021 sex crimes in the year to September, up 17% on the 12 months before. It was also up 22% compared with the year ending March 2020, prior to the coronavirus pandemic – crime levels were greatly reduced during the lockdown periods.

Of these, 70,633 (35%) were rapes – a 20% increase from the 59,104 recorded in the 12 months to March 2020.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of Victim Support, said: "This huge rise in recorded sexual offences comes as the percentage of cases seeing justice has plummeted to an abysmal new low.

"Charges for rape and sexual offences have been falling sharply for the past six years – the system is in crisis. We are on a path to destroying victims’ faith in the criminal justice system all together.”

Further ONS figures show the overall number of recorded crimes across the country remained below pre-pandemic levels.

The crime survey for England and Wales estimates 9.1 million offences were committed in the year to September – down 10% on the 10.2 million committed in the year to March 2020, the last full year before the pandemic.

Police recorded figures, which only include the crimes logged by the police, show 5.5 million crimes (excluding fraud) were recorded in the year to September – 13% up on the 4.9 million logged the year before. In Chesterfield, 9,382 crimes were recorded by police – up marginally on the 9,371 the year before.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “Both locally and nationally significant work has been undertaken to increase the reporting of sexual offences to ensure that survivors are given the support that they need – and that perpetrators are brought to justice.

“We know that sexual offences are underreported at a local, regional and national level and therefore seeing more survivors coming forward and accessing the support that partner agencies offer is positive.

“As a force we work closely with partners such as SV2 who run the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Derbyshire where survivors are able to access support – as well as make reports of incidents into the force.

“There has also been concerted efforts around the education of consent – and what is and is not acceptable behaviour – and nationally there have been numerous high profile cases and stories that have also increased the confidence to report similar incidents.

“Anyone who has been subject to a sexual assault can report at any time. You can report online via a Rape and Sexual Assault reporting tool on our website, whether it is something that's happened to you, or to someone else. To access it, visit: https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/v1/rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/

“Details can be given anonymously if you wish, and we won't judge you; we'll treat you with respect, and will always put your health and wellbeing first.

“If you are not ready to talk to the police then you can contact a range of different partner agencies who will provide you with support, advice and medical help.

“For information, details on how to report and to find out the support services available in Derbyshire, please click here: https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rsa/rape-and-sexual-assault/.”