Guernsey Police boss wants to improve sexual offences conviction rate

Ruari Hardy expects to see more convictions for sexual offences as public confidence in reporting sexual crimes has increased

Increased public confidence in the reporting of sexual offences would mean more convictions, Guernsey's head of law enforcement has said.

In 2022 there were 174 reports of sexual offences to Guernsey Police, compared to 125 in 2021.

Mr Hardy said he "would like to think things can improve" when it came to convictions for sexual offences.

"We can always improve, we can always do better and there is a commitment to do that," he said.

Between 2017 and 2019, 21 people were convicted of sexual offences, according to the 2022 Law Enforcement Annual Report.

In 2017, of the 81 reported there were seven convictions, in 2018 of the 123 reported there were 9 convictions and in 2019 of the 143 reported there were 5 convictions.

Speaking after the report was published, Mr Hardy said: "A sexual assault referral centre is planned in Guernsey imminently, we have a cadre of detectives trained to investigate sexual offences and we work with other partners to make sure we give the best support."

He said he believed there was more public confidence in the reporting of sexual offences and "as that goes forward, we will see more convictions in the court".

Mr Hardy said the force was "very much engaged in what best practice is in the UK".

The BBC has asked Guernsey Police for the number of convictions between 2020 and 2022.

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