WEST Yorkshire Police now have a specialist unit to investigate rapes and the hope is it will encourage more victims to come forward.
The Rape Investigation Unit focuses both on investigating the crimes and helping the victims deal with the trauma they have suffered.
The aim is to increase the number of successful prosecutions in what can be one of the toughest types of crime to detect.
The 36-strong team covers the county 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from offices in Bradford and Wakefield.
The officers are specially trained to investigate reports of rape and stay with the case from the first report through to the court case.
They also work alongside the Star Project – Surviving Trauma After Rape – which provides a confidential support service to victims.
The Rape Investigation Unit has its own medical examination and interview facilities. Locally-based medical examination suites set up with local health trusts are away from police premises in more discreet locations such as local health clinics.
Work is going on to improve them to provide an improved level of care for victims and the opportunity to gather forensic evidence which can be so vital in court cases.
The Rape Investigation Unit also has close links with specialist lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service, who bring an increased knowledge, expertise and consistency to the prosecution of rape cases in West Yorkshire.
Det Insp Dick Nuttall, who is in charge of the team, said: “Rape is one of the most difficult crimes to investigate and prosecute.
“That is why the police and our partners in the criminal justice system are continually working to develop how we deal with reports of rape.
“The creation of the unit means we now have a dedicated team of specialist investigators who can focus their growing expertise on investigating reports of rape, gathering the strongest possible evidence from the outset and giving continuity to the investigation.
“Every report of rape is taken seriously from the outset and thoroughly investigated.
“Alongside that we are working with partner agencies such as the Star Project to provide a vastly improved package of care and support to victims.
“We hope this will help to support victims physically and mentally and prepare them to give their evidence at court effectively.
“Rape is still a vastly under-reported area and we hope our work to improve how we deal with reports of rape will give more victims the confidence to come forward.”
Barbara Siedlecki, Star’s project manager, said: “We welcome the creation of this new dedicated unit.
“After the horrendous ordeal that rape victims have been through they need people who understand the issues they are facing.
“These are different issues to victims of any other type of crime.
“We have been working with the new unit since it was set up and have noticed a great improvement in the standard of care that victims are getting and in the way we and the officers of the unit liaise with each other more closely.”
