UK police forces ‘failing to record
sexual and violent crimes’
Rosa Ellis | John Simpson, Crime Correspondent, The Times
Just over five million crimes were recorded but the inspection figures suggest that the true figure should be 5.5 million
MARCIN ROGOZINSKI/ALAMY
Criminals are evading justice as forces fail to record more than 1,200 crimes a day, including assault, rape and child sexual abuse, a Times analysis of data from the police watchdog shows.
The failure to process the cases means that victims are denied access to support services, dangerous offenders are not jailed and the public are not properly informed of the crime rate.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services scrutinised logs of incidents reported and assessed whether they were handled correctly. It estimated that 460,700 crimes a year are unrecorded, based on assessments of 39 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
The latest official data show that just over five million crimes were recorded but the inspection figures suggest that the true figure should be 5.5 million.
Of the crimes not recorded each day, on average 433 were violent and 23 were sexual offences, including rape.
In the West Midlands a woman called police to report being pressured into having sex with a relative. A crime of rape should have been recorded and investigated but was not and no safeguarding measures were put in place.
The inspectorate audited a sample of reports from each force to estimate the number of crimes not recorded. They were given one of four overall ratings. Five police forces were rated outstanding, 14 good, 13 requiring improvement and seven were inadequate.
In some cases officers failed to recognise an incident as a crime, did not believe a victim or witness or a victim decided they did not want to pursue the case. Yet according to Home Office guidance such incidents should still be recorded as crimes.
Officers in Lincolnshire said they had felt under pressure to keep recorded crime down despite the seriousness of some offences that went undocumented. “Locally there was some pressure on officers not to record crimes due to an inability to effectively investigate and manage crimes,” the report read.
There were also vast disparities in the effectiveness of recording offences. Derbyshire constabulary had the worst rate, failing to record an estimated 35 per cent of crimes reported, equating to more than 30,000 per year. It did not record 43 per cent of all violent crimes and 22 per cent of sexual offences, according to the audit last year.
The report for the force stated that “most [officers and staff] confirmed they didn’t experience pressure not to record crime accurately”.
In the Thames Valley area a woman reported being subjected to a forced marriage, with relatives controlling all aspects of her life. Thames Valley police did not record a crime of coercive and controlling behaviour and no investigation was carried out. The force was found to be inadequate when audited in 2017 and 2018.
The inspectorate said the figures had been affected by improvements in logging incidents and that some crime types had risen overall, leading to increases in recorded and unrecorded incidents.
Damaging effect on victims
The repeated failure by police forces to give an accurate picture of the crimes they deal with has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the past five years (John Simpson writes).
The distinction between “reported” and “recorded” crime might seem arbitrary, but it is a boon for criminals and damages the police in the eyes of witnesses and victims who have had the courage to come forward. When police fail to recognise a reported offence as a crime — particularly one as serious as child sexual abuse or rape — there is a high risk that those responsible will continue to offend.
Recorded crime figures date back to the 19th century and are one of two key methods used to measure crime in England and Wales. The second is the crime survey for England and Wales, which first reported in 1981.
In 2013 it emerged that senior officers had put pressure on subordinates not to record offences to make it seem as if they were meeting crime reduction targets.
The practice of not recording — or misrecording — crimes was rife and compounded by poor practice and mistakes in record keeping.
The UK Statistics Authority stripped the police of its gold-standard “national statistics” label while a review was conducted.
The move undermined claims by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government that crime had fallen 10 per cent and prompted better recording, showing that crime has increased year-on-year under the Conservatives.
The fact that forces fail to record crimes on such a scale will be of concern, particularly as Boris Johnson sets out to resurrect the Tories’ reputation as the party of law and order.
The doctor who was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of sexual abuse of two patients who reported at the end of last year has been released. The examining magistrate saw insufficient serious objections to hold the man for longer.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) announces that an appeal has been made. If this is justified, the man can be locked again. He remains a suspect in the case.
There is also a case against him about a third declaration, made halfway through last year. Even then the doctor was arrested, but he was released during the pre-trial trial.
The man was also acquitted of the abuse of one of his patients. In 2018, a year and a half was demanded against the man for touching a woman's breasts and for penetrating her body.
Error in indictment
Although he admitted that he had invaded the woman, he was acquitted because a mistake had been made in the indictment. For example, two separate facts were discussed. In fact one, the man was charged with having invaded the woman while she was diminished in consciousness at the time. The second fact was that the man committed sexual abuse by touching the breasts of his patient.
The court saw insufficient evidence for the reduced consciousness of the woman, and acquittal followed for the first offense. Also touching her breasts was probably with medical necessity. But since the sexual intrusion was then not added to the second fact that was being treated, the man was ultimately not convicted for anything. An appeal against this decision is still pending.
Suspended by disciplinary court
Earlier this month the man was suspended by the disciplinary court for twelve months, six of which were conditional . This is the case that was brought to court in 2018.
"The defendant cannot explain the cross-border behavior other than as a result of work pressure. From this point of reference, he has taken measures to prevent a recurrence," according to the ruling.
Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services revealed that the ministry received and looked into a total of 283 cases in December 2019, of which 134 were about violence against children.
According to statistics publicised by the ministry last Tuesday, cases of violence against children included 66 cases of negligence, 27 cases of sexual abuse, 15 cases of physical abuse and 14 cases of emotional abuse.
Furthermore, 17 cases of child rights violations were reported and attended to. Among these were seven cases of refusal to vaccinate children, six cases of refusal of access to education, two cases of denial of birth registration, one case of violating right to health care and medication, and one case of forced child marriage.
Gender Ministry also revealed that within this period, 30 cases of family issues were brought to their notice, of which 20 cases regarded custody, nine cases were concerning parenting issues and a single case regarding child maintenance.
Meanwhile, a total of nine cases of children in conflict with the law were attended, with the nature of the cases involving disobedience, drug use, vandalism and damage to properties.
Additionally, the ministry received and attended to 13 cases of behavioural problems of children, of which seven were cases of children running away.
According to the ministry, 44 cases of gender based violence and domestic violence were reported last month. The most frequent cases were forms of physical abuse, of which 18 cases were reported. Other cases from this category involve 11 cases of emotional or verbal abuse, six cases of intimidation, two cases of negligence, two cases of rape, one case of sexual abuse, one case of stalking, one case of sexual harassment, one case of withholding or damage to property, and one case of controlling behaviour.
Moreover, the ministry received and looked into 33 cases of care and support for elderly people and persons with disabilities. Reports include 27 cases regarding care and support to persons with disabilities and six cases related to care and support to the elderly.
Among the suicidal behaviour and thoughts category, three cases were reported and attended to in December.
The Gender Ministry recently came under fire as news of a toddler being sexually abused (8th story on link) by members of her family spread across the country. As a slew of child sexual abuse cases came to light in the wake of the first case, members of the public heavily criticised the administration and questioned the competency of the ministry with regards to ensuring the safety and welfare of children.
Tommy Livingston, Stuff
A High Court judge has allowed a man convicted of having child sex-abuse images to serve his sentence at home, instead of prison.
A Wellington man caught possessing child sex-abuse images after someone fixing his cellphone came across the material has had his sentence of imprisonment replaced with home detention.
The man, who has name suppression, pled guilty last year to one representative charge of distributing child sexual exploitation images, one representative charge of possessing bestiality and child sexual exploitation material and one representative charge of making child exploitation images.
A technician fixing his found phone came across the deleted images and contacted police who conducted further searches.
A total of 1550 objectionable media items were found on the cell phone, including two of his 4-year-old daughter. Most of the material was of children posing in a sexualised manner with various degrees of nudity. The majority of the videos were of sexual activity between adults and children.
The man was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment.
He launched an appeal shortly after claiming the sentence was excessive and that his chances of rehabilitation and reintegration were given insufficient weight. The man's lawyer, Marty Robinson, argued in front of Justice Susan Thomas that his client should have received a greater discount for his good character, remorse and co-operation with police.
In her decision, Justice Thomas agreed that more weight could have been placed on the man's ability to rehabilitate, and slashed his sentence to 12 months of home detention.
She stated that such a short prison sentence would be counter-productive given he would lose his job.
"Given he is a first offender in respect of this type of offending, with no criminal record to speak of, it is likely that he would have been paroled either at, or close to, his first eligibility date," the decision read. "The prospects of any rehabilitation during such a short period of imprisonment are slim at best."
Robinson provided the court with character references for the man - which included one from a woman who claimed the offender had helped her deal with her own sexual abuse.
Given that he had also engaged in therapy, Justice Thomas believed he had a good understanding of his offending. "A sentence of imprisonment will see the appellant lose a good job, his home and future prospects. Given the length of sentence, rehabilitative treatment in prison is unlikely.
"The appellant's employment prospects on release will inevitably be severely impacted."
Justice Thomas said a sentence in the community would enable the man to remain in employment, provide for his family and take steps to rehabilitate.
"It will enable him to continue to be a contributing member of society while at the same time the safety of the community will be protected through a sentence of home detention and the placement of the appellant's name on the Child Sex Offender Register."
How is the community protected by home detention. I realize he is less likely to have access to children, although by keeping his name suppressed, it doesn't stop children from coming to his house. Furthermore, his crime is viewing child sexual abuse images, which he can most certainly continue from his house.
I empathize with the guy's family and agree with the steps Justice Thomas has taken, but I would have slapped him with a significant period of parole which would be revoked immediately on condition he is found with more child sex abuse images.
A 24-year-old man from Chennai has been arrested by the police for possessing and watching child sexual abuse material in the city. According to reports, the man had been indulging in the illegal activity over a period of two years. The arrest came following a tip from the National Crime Records Bureau regarding a phone that had been downloading illegal material.
According to the Times of India, S Harish from Ambattur was identified after his phone number matched with the record of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. Harish, who was finally nabbed on Tuesday, had used 500 IP addresses. The unemployed science graduate had reportedly watched the content at browsing centres.
According to The New Indian Express, Harish soon began downloading the child sexual abuse material onto his phone and watching it. The Ambattur All Women's police station booked Harish under Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and Section 14(1) (Punishment for using child for pornographic purposes) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In December last year, the Crime against Women and Children Wing in Tamil Nadu launched a crackdown on those illegally downloading child sexual abuse material on to their phones and computers.
In December, a 42-year-old air conditioner mechanic was arrested for allegedly possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. The man had allegedly used multiple Facebook profiles to share the material, simply creating another ID even if the social media site suspended one account.
On January 4, a 23-year-old man from Assam who worked in a tiles factory in Pollachi was arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material. A day later, a bus conductor from Avinashi in Tirupur district was arrested under the POCSO Act.
COIMBATORE: The Rural Police on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old man from Assam for sharing child sexual abuse material on his Facebook page.
The arrested person was identified as Rafiq-ul-Islam from Assam. He was working at a factory near Kottur.
According to sources, the arrested allegedly began uploading obscene content of children in his Facebook posts recently. Upon finding his posts, the Kottur police detained him on Wednesday.
After an investigation, he was booked under sections of POCSO Act and IT Act. He was produced before the district Mahila court and later remanded under judicial custody.
On February 11, 2016, the six-year-old student had returned from school in a distraught state. She told her mother that she had been sexually abused by the van driver. The next day when she was again abused by the driver, her mother went to the school with the child who identified the man.
Written by Sadaf Modak | Mumbai | indian express news
OBSERVING THAT schools rarely report offences of child sexual abuse on students to avoid stigma and disrepute, a special court has sentenced a school van driver to 10 years in jail for raping a six-year-old student of a school in the city’s western suburbs in 2016.
The accused had earlier claimed innocence on a ground that the complaint in the case had been filed two days after the incident. “The parents of the victim (in the 2006 case) first wrote to the school authorities seeking their help. Before lodging any complaint, they (the school authorities) tried to verify facts, and on verifying they lodged the FIR… Many a times school authorities are reluctant, like in this matter. They have been giving assurance of taking steps, but not taking steps, may be considering the reputation of their school,” the court said in its order last week.
On February 11, 2016, the six-year-old student had returned from school in a distraught state. She told her mother that she had been sexually abused by the van driver. The next day when she was again abused by the driver, her mother went to the school with the child who identified the man. Her mother also noted the details of his van number. The man managed to run away thereafter.
The victim’s mother told court that she had tried to find his contact number and had also emailed the school as well as messaged other parents. Two days later, they approached the school again and discussed the issue with its management along with other parents and then decided to file an FIR.
Not being Indian, there may be cultural things here I don't understand, by why did the mother let the child on the bus again the next day? That is completely beyond my ability to comprehend. And why did the parents approach the school, not the police, right away? Good grief!
Limburg, NL, doctor suspected of sexual abuse,
OM on appeal
By NU, Google translated from DutchThe doctor who was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of sexual abuse of two patients who reported at the end of last year has been released. The examining magistrate saw insufficient serious objections to hold the man for longer.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) announces that an appeal has been made. If this is justified, the man can be locked again. He remains a suspect in the case.
There is also a case against him about a third declaration, made halfway through last year. Even then the doctor was arrested, but he was released during the pre-trial trial.
The man was also acquitted of the abuse of one of his patients. In 2018, a year and a half was demanded against the man for touching a woman's breasts and for penetrating her body.
Error in indictment
Although he admitted that he had invaded the woman, he was acquitted because a mistake had been made in the indictment. For example, two separate facts were discussed. In fact one, the man was charged with having invaded the woman while she was diminished in consciousness at the time. The second fact was that the man committed sexual abuse by touching the breasts of his patient.
The court saw insufficient evidence for the reduced consciousness of the woman, and acquittal followed for the first offense. Also touching her breasts was probably with medical necessity. But since the sexual intrusion was then not added to the second fact that was being treated, the man was ultimately not convicted for anything. An appeal against this decision is still pending.
Suspended by disciplinary court
Earlier this month the man was suspended by the disciplinary court for twelve months, six of which were conditional . This is the case that was brought to court in 2018.
"The defendant cannot explain the cross-border behavior other than as a result of work pressure. From this point of reference, he has taken measures to prevent a recurrence," according to the ruling.
Limburg Province, NL
134 cases of violence against children lodged in
Dec 2019: Maldives Gender Ministry
Nafaahath IbrahimMinistry of Gender, Family and Social Services revealed that the ministry received and looked into a total of 283 cases in December 2019, of which 134 were about violence against children.
According to statistics publicised by the ministry last Tuesday, cases of violence against children included 66 cases of negligence, 27 cases of sexual abuse, 15 cases of physical abuse and 14 cases of emotional abuse.
Furthermore, 17 cases of child rights violations were reported and attended to. Among these were seven cases of refusal to vaccinate children, six cases of refusal of access to education, two cases of denial of birth registration, one case of violating right to health care and medication, and one case of forced child marriage.
Gender Ministry also revealed that within this period, 30 cases of family issues were brought to their notice, of which 20 cases regarded custody, nine cases were concerning parenting issues and a single case regarding child maintenance.
Meanwhile, a total of nine cases of children in conflict with the law were attended, with the nature of the cases involving disobedience, drug use, vandalism and damage to properties.
Additionally, the ministry received and attended to 13 cases of behavioural problems of children, of which seven were cases of children running away.
According to the ministry, 44 cases of gender based violence and domestic violence were reported last month. The most frequent cases were forms of physical abuse, of which 18 cases were reported. Other cases from this category involve 11 cases of emotional or verbal abuse, six cases of intimidation, two cases of negligence, two cases of rape, one case of sexual abuse, one case of stalking, one case of sexual harassment, one case of withholding or damage to property, and one case of controlling behaviour.
Moreover, the ministry received and looked into 33 cases of care and support for elderly people and persons with disabilities. Reports include 27 cases regarding care and support to persons with disabilities and six cases related to care and support to the elderly.
Among the suicidal behaviour and thoughts category, three cases were reported and attended to in December.
The Gender Ministry recently came under fire as news of a toddler being sexually abused (8th story on link) by members of her family spread across the country. As a slew of child sexual abuse cases came to light in the wake of the first case, members of the public heavily criticised the administration and questioned the competency of the ministry with regards to ensuring the safety and welfare of children.
Wellington, N.Z., sex offender has prison sentence replaced with home detention
Tommy Livingston, Stuff
A High Court judge has allowed a man convicted of having child sex-abuse images to serve his sentence at home, instead of prison.
A Wellington man caught possessing child sex-abuse images after someone fixing his cellphone came across the material has had his sentence of imprisonment replaced with home detention.
The man, who has name suppression, pled guilty last year to one representative charge of distributing child sexual exploitation images, one representative charge of possessing bestiality and child sexual exploitation material and one representative charge of making child exploitation images.
A technician fixing his found phone came across the deleted images and contacted police who conducted further searches.
A total of 1550 objectionable media items were found on the cell phone, including two of his 4-year-old daughter. Most of the material was of children posing in a sexualised manner with various degrees of nudity. The majority of the videos were of sexual activity between adults and children.
The man was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment.
He launched an appeal shortly after claiming the sentence was excessive and that his chances of rehabilitation and reintegration were given insufficient weight. The man's lawyer, Marty Robinson, argued in front of Justice Susan Thomas that his client should have received a greater discount for his good character, remorse and co-operation with police.
In her decision, Justice Thomas agreed that more weight could have been placed on the man's ability to rehabilitate, and slashed his sentence to 12 months of home detention.
She stated that such a short prison sentence would be counter-productive given he would lose his job.
"Given he is a first offender in respect of this type of offending, with no criminal record to speak of, it is likely that he would have been paroled either at, or close to, his first eligibility date," the decision read. "The prospects of any rehabilitation during such a short period of imprisonment are slim at best."
Robinson provided the court with character references for the man - which included one from a woman who claimed the offender had helped her deal with her own sexual abuse.
Given that he had also engaged in therapy, Justice Thomas believed he had a good understanding of his offending. "A sentence of imprisonment will see the appellant lose a good job, his home and future prospects. Given the length of sentence, rehabilitative treatment in prison is unlikely.
"The appellant's employment prospects on release will inevitably be severely impacted."
Justice Thomas said a sentence in the community would enable the man to remain in employment, provide for his family and take steps to rehabilitate.
"It will enable him to continue to be a contributing member of society while at the same time the safety of the community will be protected through a sentence of home detention and the placement of the appellant's name on the Child Sex Offender Register."
How is the community protected by home detention. I realize he is less likely to have access to children, although by keeping his name suppressed, it doesn't stop children from coming to his house. Furthermore, his crime is viewing child sexual abuse images, which he can most certainly continue from his house.
I empathize with the guy's family and agree with the steps Justice Thomas has taken, but I would have slapped him with a significant period of parole which would be revoked immediately on condition he is found with more child sex abuse images.
Chennai man used 500 IP addresses for watching child sexual abuse material
TNM Staff @thenewsminuteA 24-year-old man from Chennai has been arrested by the police for possessing and watching child sexual abuse material in the city. According to reports, the man had been indulging in the illegal activity over a period of two years. The arrest came following a tip from the National Crime Records Bureau regarding a phone that had been downloading illegal material.
According to the Times of India, S Harish from Ambattur was identified after his phone number matched with the record of the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. Harish, who was finally nabbed on Tuesday, had used 500 IP addresses. The unemployed science graduate had reportedly watched the content at browsing centres.
According to The New Indian Express, Harish soon began downloading the child sexual abuse material onto his phone and watching it. The Ambattur All Women's police station booked Harish under Section 67(B) of the Information Technology Act (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and Section 14(1) (Punishment for using child for pornographic purposes) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In December last year, the Crime against Women and Children Wing in Tamil Nadu launched a crackdown on those illegally downloading child sexual abuse material on to their phones and computers.
In December, a 42-year-old air conditioner mechanic was arrested for allegedly possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. The man had allegedly used multiple Facebook profiles to share the material, simply creating another ID even if the social media site suspended one account.
On January 4, a 23-year-old man from Assam who worked in a tiles factory in Pollachi was arrested for possessing child sexual abuse material. A day later, a bus conductor from Avinashi in Tirupur district was arrested under the POCSO Act.
Man from Assam held in Coimbatore for sharing child sexual abuse material on Facebook
By Express News ServiceCOIMBATORE: The Rural Police on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old man from Assam for sharing child sexual abuse material on his Facebook page.
The arrested person was identified as Rafiq-ul-Islam from Assam. He was working at a factory near Kottur.
According to sources, the arrested allegedly began uploading obscene content of children in his Facebook posts recently. Upon finding his posts, the Kottur police detained him on Wednesday.
After an investigation, he was booked under sections of POCSO Act and IT Act. He was produced before the district Mahila court and later remanded under judicial custody.
Schools ‘rarely report’ child sexual abuse to avoid stigma, says Mumbai court
Written by Sadaf Modak | Mumbai | indian express news
OBSERVING THAT schools rarely report offences of child sexual abuse on students to avoid stigma and disrepute, a special court has sentenced a school van driver to 10 years in jail for raping a six-year-old student of a school in the city’s western suburbs in 2016.
The accused had earlier claimed innocence on a ground that the complaint in the case had been filed two days after the incident. “The parents of the victim (in the 2006 case) first wrote to the school authorities seeking their help. Before lodging any complaint, they (the school authorities) tried to verify facts, and on verifying they lodged the FIR… Many a times school authorities are reluctant, like in this matter. They have been giving assurance of taking steps, but not taking steps, may be considering the reputation of their school,” the court said in its order last week.
On February 11, 2016, the six-year-old student had returned from school in a distraught state. She told her mother that she had been sexually abused by the van driver. The next day when she was again abused by the driver, her mother went to the school with the child who identified the man. Her mother also noted the details of his van number. The man managed to run away thereafter.
The victim’s mother told court that she had tried to find his contact number and had also emailed the school as well as messaged other parents. Two days later, they approached the school again and discussed the issue with its management along with other parents and then decided to file an FIR.
Not being Indian, there may be cultural things here I don't understand, by why did the mother let the child on the bus again the next day? That is completely beyond my ability to comprehend. And why did the parents approach the school, not the police, right away? Good grief!
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