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Government-funded researchers have uncovered \u201cstriking\u201d evidence that rape myths \u2013 such as the belief that a woman\u2019s behaviour plays a part in her rape \u2013 are believed by police officers investigating allegations of the crime.<\/p>\n
A study<\/a> of specialist rape and sexual offences officers in one large police force gives a rare snapshot into attitudes which researchers warn could be contributing to the 1.6% charge rate in rape cases in England and Wales.<\/p>\n One senior officer, who expressed concern at the existence of rape myths in their force, told academics: \u201cWe massively pre-judge the credibility of the victim. We investigate the victim more than the offence itself.\u201d<\/p>\n It was revealed this week that the Metropolitan police officer David Carrick waged a campaign of terror against women for two decades<\/a>. Afterwards the Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, promised changes would be made \u201cat speed\u201d. Launching a \u201cturnaround plan\u201d to improve standards in the force on Friday, Rowley said he was \u201cdetermined to win back Londoners\u2019 trust\u201d after Carrick\u2019s \u201cappalling criminality\u201d.<\/p>\n On Friday the women\u2019s charity Refuge put 1,071 plastic \u201cbad apples\u201d outside the Metropolitan police\u2019s headquarters at New Scotland Yard, to mark the 1,071 officers and staff members in the Met being investigated over allegations of violence against women and girls.<\/p>\n Experts have said more predators within forces are now likely to be exposed after the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council (NPCC) told all chief constables to check their officers<\/a> against national databases for misogyny and predatory behaviour.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to see a whole series of new cases involving police officers who have transgressed in the most dreadful ways and preyed on vulnerable victims,\u201d said the former police watchdog Zo\u00eb Billingham. \u201cThe situation is going to get worse before it gets better.\u201d<\/p>\n Police areas were examined as part Operation Soteria Bluestone \u2013 a Home Office-funded programme<\/a> aiming to tackle a catastrophic fall in rape prosecutions<\/a> in England and Wales.<\/p>\n The study, published in the International Review of Victimology, was based on 17 in-depth interviews conducted in England<\/a> at the end of 2021 as part of the work of Operation Soteria Bluestone but not included in its year one report. It gave \u201cunique insight\u201d into officers\u2019 unvarnished opinions, the authors said.<\/p>\n Researchers from the study said it was \u201cof considerable concern\u201d that some officers did not know what rape myths were. Of those who did, many said they did not affect investigations. But the report found almost all officers interviewed \u201clater proceeded to display various such myths\u201d.<\/p>\n One senior officer was told detectives didn\u2019t need to be educated on rape myths. They concluded: \u201cAnd actually, you know, you can almost start going: \u2018Oh my God, no wonder we got problems\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n It also found evidence of victim-blaming, particularly in relation to sex workers. One officer said: \u201cI suppose that is always going to have an impact on the way you think \u2026 you know, they\u2019re in these situations because of the job that they do.\u201d The authors said that while the rape myths demonstrated in the study \u201care not unique [\u2026] what is striking is that they were held by officers specifically working on [rape]\u201d.<\/p>\n Betsy Stanko, who is not one of the study\u2019s authors but is the academic co-lead for Soteria Bluestone and wrote its year one report, said the findings were not unique to the unnamed force, but had been found \u201cacross the board\u201d in the police areas that were examined as part of Operation Soteria Bluestone.<\/p>\n \u201cThe lack of substantive specialist knowledge was so lacking that they are often basically drawing on common-sense justifications, founded in myths about victims which exist in society today,\u201d Stanko said.<\/p>\n She argued that Carrick\u2019s horrific crimes \u2013 which make him one of the worst sex offenders in modern history \u2013 brutally demonstrated the need for more transparency. \u201cThe police have been rocked to the core, and they just can\u2019t hide any more from accountability,\u201d Stanko said.<\/p>\n \u201cSoteria has laid out the state of how it is now \u2013 and if it\u2019s a dismal picture, then that\u2019s where you have to start. Officers we have met have accepted the state of play and are working to change it.\u201d<\/p>\n She said there was hope, and highlighted Avon and Somerset<\/a>, where the charge rate for rape has tripled, from 3% to 10%.<\/p>\n The damning year one report<\/a> from Soteria Bluestone<\/a> exposed persistent failings in the criminal justice system, including a failure to track repeat suspects, \u201cexplicit victim-blaming\u201d and botched investigations. It found that among the victims potentially seen as not credible were \u201cthose who made repeat\/multiple allegations, sex workers, those with mental health or substance abuse issues, intoxicated victims, victims who give \u2018inconsistent\u2019 or \u2018incomplete\u2019 accounts, and victims who may have lied in the past (in almost any area of their life)\u201d.<\/p>\n One officer said: \u201cA large proportion of our cases are people suffering with mental health issues and also kind of repeat allegers.\u201d In another force there was a belief among senior management that \u201cthe system is clogged up with false allegations\u201d.<\/p>\n Researchers from the more recent study stated that \u201cgenuinely false allegations of rape are made in a very small minority of cases\u201d – pointing to research<\/a> that puts the figure at 3%. <\/p>\n Researchers also found a dire lack of training for specialist officers about rape, with no plans to implement it in the force they examined. One officer said: \u201cRape is a serious investigation. So \u2026 why are DCs [detective constables] not getting any training to investigate rape?\u201d<\/p>\n Amelia Handy, the head of policy at Rape Crisis England and Wales<\/a>, said rape myths held by officers let \u201cperpetrators off the hook\u201d and fed into a broader rape culture. \u201cIn recent days we have been reminded of how rape culture in policing has allowed sexually violent police officers off the hook time and time again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The study\u2019s authors recommend screening officers for rape myths before they join specialist sexual offences teams, and regular training because \u201cat present, these beliefs remain unchallenged and unaddressed\u201d with officers \u201cnot meeting the needs of victims of sexual violence, nor punishing those who commit sexual violence\u201d.<\/p>\n On Friday, a Home Office report<\/a> found rape victims were having significant amounts of their personal records \u201cunnecessarily requested\u201d by police, four years after the Guardian revealed police were demanding almost unfettered access<\/a>. The government has said it will introduce legislation on police requests for access<\/a> to personal data from third parties.<\/p>\n \u201cThis [\u2026] will support the police to ensure all requests are completely necessary, and that we can protect victims and deliver justice more quickly,\u201d said Sarah Dines, the minister for safeguarding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n