'Digivan' will protect Northamptonshire rape victims' privacy say police

The van has state-of-the-art digital equipment, police said

A new digital forensic vehicle used to investigate sexual offences will help maintain victims' privacy, a chief constable said.

Northamptonshire Police's "digivan" allows officers to examine phones and tablets without taking them away.

Police forces have been criticised for pressuring sexual assault victims to hand over devices for long periods.

But Northamptonshire's chief constable Nick Adderley said officers only wanted "information relevant to the case".

The unmarked van will examine digital devices at any location and return them to victims immediately after they have been processed, police said.

Northamptonshire Police chief constable Nick Adderley said the force wanted to get the best evidence to court

Mr Adderley said: "We made a clear pledge to the public of Northamptonshire that we take sexual offences really seriously. We need to use all the technology available to support victims."

He said previously mobile phones and tablets could be "sat in a store room for weeks, sometimes months" before being examined.

"That is just not fair. People want their devices back at quickly as possible, they want their privacy maintained," Mr Adderley said.

The van is unmarked and can go to locations requested by the victim

Earlier this year the government set out new rules to cover indiscriminate access to information, including phone data and social media, by police and prosecutors.

Mr Adderley said forces were "moving towards" balancing collecting evidence and not making victims feel like they were being investigated.

"Has the police service got it right in the past? No it absolutely hasn't," he said.

"What this van enables us to do is download the information relevant to that particular accusation. The rest of the data on the phone is then private, as it should be," he said.

Conservative Stephen Mold said the force needed the tools to collect digital evidence

Northamptonshire's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Stephen Mold, said he had put "a lot of pressure on the force to increase its digital capability".

He said the unmarked van meant digital evidence could be "expeditiously dealt with privately".

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He admitted the "whole system has got to work better", including police, courts and the Crown Prosecution Service, to increase rape and sexual assault convictions.

Serenity manager Fay Wickett said victims' needed their mobile phones

Fay Wickett, manager of Serenity, the NHS service for people who have been raped or sexually assaulted in Northamptonshire, said the van was "absolutely brilliant".

She said: "It is such a lifeline having your phone, it can have a massive impact on your mental health."

Ms Wickett said victims having their phones meant they could receive calls or messages for appointments, including medical examinations and support, and do things such as online banking.