Shocking figures have revealed that the police have received 100 reports of rape in Macclesfield over the last five years.
And according to figures released by Cheshire Police following a Freedom of Information request by The Express, only 10 people were charged in relation to the complaints.
After the complaints were made, police also discovered information that led them to believe that no crime had been committed in relation to 12. That means that 78 allegations of rape reported to the police were never solved.
But officers say that in some cases the alleged victim may have refused to co-operate with the force, hamstringing their investigations.
Speaking to The Express, Detective Inspector Clare Coleman of Cheshire Police’s Dedicated Rape Unit (DRU), said: “When someone reports a rape then we record it as such.
“But sometimes when we start an investigation it can be that the alleged victim does not want to cooperate, or that we get part way through and the victim decides they cannot go through with the prosecution.
“It’s not a case of police not fully investigating a rape – we are very victim focused. Even if an alleged victim does not want to cooperate we support them in every way we can, putting them in touch with support groups and counselling centres.
“However, at the minute the DRU for Cheshire has 156 tasks logged – most of which will be individual rapes – and that is a lot.” The number of rape reports in Cheshire has also shot up in the last five years, from 182 offences in 2009 to 329 in 2013. Of the 1,259 alleged rapes reported in those five years, 869 remain unsolved, 219 people were charged and 171 were subsequently classified as not being a crime.
Commenting on the figures, Julie Evans, operations manager of Cheshire’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre said the number of unsolved rapes was high.
She said: “We would be concerned why it is such a large amount. “I don’t think it’sthat victims do not want to come forward, in my experience they want their day in court to see justice served.
“But sometimes it is the Crown Prosecution Service that determine whether they have a chance of conviction. They may decide not to take a case to court.”Macclesfield
MP David Rutley said: “There are several reasons why a reported rape may not come to court, but it is vital that victims are given much needed support through the entire process. Having been in contact with local police, I understand this support has improved in recent years.”
