Sexual assault victims' evidence lost in recording equipment fault

The unit at the CRI is one of a number which has had recording equipment upgraded

Victims of sexual assault will have to repeat evidence because of a fault with a recording device at a specialist centre in hospital.

South Wales Police said a recording unit at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Cardiff Royal Infirmary "developed a fault".

Following a review, it was found six victims did not have their complete interviews recorded.

The force said specially trained officers were supporting the victims.

Capita, the company which installed the equipment, has apologised to those affected.

South Wales Police said more than 7,000 interviews had been successfully completed using the facilities.

However it confirmed some victims will have to tell police officers what happened to them again because their interviews were not recorded properly.

'Not predictable'

Assistant Chief Constable Danny Richards said: "The fault was not predictable and was identified at an early stage. However, a number of interviews will have to be carried out again.

"Following a review we understand that this has affected six victims. Specially trained officers are continuing to support them throughout this process."

Since November 2019, South Wales Police and Gwent Police have been upgrading interview recording equipment.

New recording equipment was installed in custody suites, sexual assault referral centres and other locations in the south Wales area in March.

However the force has told BBC Wales the fault was only discovered in the referral centre in Cardiff.

A spokesperson for Capita said: "The fault was in a single device and, as soon as we were notified of the issue, we resolved it immediately.

"We are taking steps to ensure that this situation can never happen again and we will continue to monitor performance with our client.

"We apologise to those affected for any additional distress caused."