Warwickshire Police joins Operation Soteria rape investigations scheme

Warwickshire Police Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said the force wanted to build confidence within its communities

Warwickshire Police has joined a pilot scheme designed to improve how officers investigate sexual offences, after figures showed the force had the lowest rape conviction rate in the country.

Fewer than 2% of reported rapes ended with a charge, and just 1.3% led to a conviction, in the year to March 2021.

It is one of five forces working with academics to develop new approaches to investigations and prosecutions.

Operation Soteria Bluestone has been funded by the Home Office.

"Our charge rate has already increased... from 2% to now over 5%," Det Supt Sutherland Lane, from Warwickshire Police, said.

"We are now investing in our investigation resources, into a domestic abuse and Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) team, and we are putting additional training into those officers."

Operation Soteria Bluestone aims to bring police forces together with academics and policy experts

West Midlands Police was one of five forces involved with the Operation Soteria Bluestone project last year and the government said it had led to it developing a tailored improvement plan.

The Home Office said it was one of a series of schemes that "supports our ambition to more than double the number of [sexual offence] cases reaching court".

Forces in England and Wales recorded 70,330 rapes in 2021-22, the highest number since records began in 2002-03.

Warwickshire Chief Constable Debbie Tedds said: "Rape is one of the most horrendous, complex and challenging crimes that people can experience and we're committed to achieving the best outcomes for victims.

"We want to make improvements to our investigations and we want to improve the experiences of victims and ensure our communities can be confident that perpetrators will be brought to justice."