A police watchdog says a woman who complained of rape was “let down” by South Wales Police

Posted on December 7, 2009
Filed Under Legal Police, Rape and Sexual Assault, Wales | Comments Off

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) says officers failed to investigate the claims properly, or offer the victim adequate support.

The report was ordered in 2008 after police began re-examining the case. South Wales Police said it fully accepted the failings highlighted by the IPCC, and it had learned ‘valuable lessons’ in light of the case. The decision by the IPCC to bring an independent inquiry into the way the allegations were handled followed an in-depth report in the Guardian newspaper.

She initially contacted Sussex Police in 2005, claiming that she had been sexually abused as a child by a member of her family. The details were then passed to South Wales Police to investigate, as the alleged offences took place within their force area.

But three years on, under the pseudonym of ‘Beth Ellis’, she told the Guardian how an investigating officer took months to gather witness statements, and how the first prosecution file was lost by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and then the case was initially dropped.

But the revelations, including a detailed journal from the woman, prompted the CPS to rethink its original decision, ordering the police to reinvestigate her claims. In April 2008, the IPCC announced it was launching a full investigation into how the whole case had been handled by South Wales Police.

Publishing its findings on Friday, the IPCC said it upheld all nine complaints made by the victim, including:

IPCC Commissioner Tom Davies said: “This woman has been let down by basic policing errors and lack of adequate support. Allegations of the nature made to South Wales Police are difficult to investigate, but that is no excuse for not getting the basics right or providing the support needed to help people through exceedingly difficult circumstances. It is vitally important people can come to the police with confidence that serious matters such as these properly investigated. Failures of this kind though only serve to make the experience more traumatic than it already is and dent the public’s confidence.

The watchdog said that as a result of its investigation a detective constable with the South Wales force had been given a written warning. An acting detective sergeant supervising officer was given “words of advice” for his lack of supervision of the junior officer. A detective inspector also received a written warning for overall failings in supervision of the case.

Responding to the report, Chief Supt Tim Jones, the head of professional standards in South Wales Police, said the force fully accepted that there had been failings.

“The initial investigation was not of the standard that we would expect in cases of this of nature and in response to the IPCC investigation, the officers involved have been dealt with appropriately via internal disciplinary procedures,” he said. Valuable lessons which have been learnt from this investigation have informed improvements to the services we provide to victims of crime, particularly to those who report historic incidents that have taken many years to come to light. Over the last few years, we have moved on a great deal in this particular area, and the support now provided to victims of sexual assault in South Wales has been recognised as some of the best that is available throughout England and Wales.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8394887.stm

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