EXCLUSIVE

by Dave Burke

dave.burke@essnmedia.co.uk

Croydon police have been slammed this week after an Advertiser investigation revealed the force is the worst at catching rapists in the whole of London.

Despite the borough having more reported rapes than anywhere else in the capital, last year charges were only brought in 16 per cent of cases - less than half the Met Police average.

According to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 150 rapes were reported to police in Croydon in 2008.

That is more than double the number reported in most other boroughs - but despite that just 24 suspects were charged over the whole year.

It means many people who reported rapes to police face the misery of knowing their attacker is still at large and, all too often, they are told that police will not be pursuing the matter further.

After seeing the figures, Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the Croydon Rape Crisis Centre, said: "It is very worrying.

"Rape is the worst thing that could happen to a person, it's completely and utterly devastating.

"The courage shown to report something like that is huge, they'll really have gritted their teeth by going and reporting it.

"It's a crime that's second only to murder, and if there were that many murderers running around there would be mayhem."

Ms Traynor would like to see every alleged perpetrator have their DNA taken, whereas she says at present some suspects aren't even questioned.

She explained: "With rapists it's not just a one-off - if they think they can get away with it they will do it again.

"It's unacceptable that they are getting away with it."

Croydon is the only borough in London to have its own rape crisis centre, and staff work closely with officers from Operation Sapphire - the Met Police's rape investigation unit - from across the capital.

But fears have been voiced that the operation's Croydon unit is not making the best of the resource which is right on its doorstep.

Ms Traynor said: "It's frustrating because it reflects badly on us.

"We're working with other Sapphire units, but they (Croydon) aren't using us."

And she warned that catching rapists should be a top priority for police.

Ms Traynor said: "A lot of the people who do this do it because they get a kick out of the fear from the woman.

"The reason people do it is because there's something damaged in them where they have to see the fear in someone else's eyes."

Boris Johnson's head of policing in London says Croydon's rape figures have been highlighted as a problem.

Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor responsible for policing, says that performance across the capital is not good enough.

But he is encouraged by a pledge from Croydon's Borough Commander Adrian Roberts to improve the borough's charge rate to 35 per cent.

He said: "We talk on a monthly basis about performance and Croydon has been on the list in the past about this and about youth crime.

"But I think it is realistic that it can achieve a 35 per cent (charge) rate for 2009, I'm pleased to see that the borough commander is being ambitious about his target."

Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks says he is alarmed by the rape statistics revealed this week.

Mr Wicks will be raising the matter with Borough Commander Adrian Roberts.

"It is a shocking, shocking crime," he said.

"Sadly I come across this kind of occurrence quite regularly in my constituency work and my advice surgeries.

"It's a shocking figure, but I can't say I'm altogether surprised.

"I knew that generally across the Met the chances of bringing someone successfully to court is pretty low.

"But on the evidence you've gathered, it looks like we're doing very badly in Croydon."

After seeing the figures, Croydon Council's community safety chief admitted he has very grave concerns about the way rape cases are investigated in Croydon.

But Councillor Gavin Barwell, who hopes to become the Tory MP for Central Croydon after the next general election, is confident that things are improving.

He said: "It is a real concern, the sanction and detection (charge) rate just isn't high enough.

"There is a general problem linked to domestic violence, the nighttime economy and the Lunar House immigration issues in Croydon.

"The figures were disappointing and they were disappointing on the domestic violence front as well.

"I am reassured that there has been progress since then, what we need to see is that any progress is sustained over a longer period."

Central Croydon MP Andrew Pelling says that the figures demonstrate the need for the police to be given more resources.

Mr Pelling described the numbers as "distressing", but said he would be asking for more information from the police before being drawn into criticising them.

The MP stated: "If we had more resources not only could the police better investigate allegations, but they could be on the streets at night as a deterrent.

"The police want to lock away rapists as much as the rest of us, but to achieve this victims must feel confident they can report the crime, and the only way they can have that confidence is if the police have the resources they need.

"This applies across the board, and it is why I have consistently been calling for a larger share of London's police resources for Croydon."

The Advertiser asked Croydon police for an interview with a senior officer from the Operation Sapphire rape investigation team.

This request was declined and instead a statement was issued by Detective Superintendent Fran Smith, who heads Croydon CID and its Sapphire team.

She said: "There has been a significant rise in the number of reported rapes in Croydon and although there isn't really one simple explanation, our analysis indicates a number of possible contributory factors.

"These include one of the largest nighttime economies in London, where alcohol heightens the vulnerabilities of victims, rape within the home environment and young women who are reporting through the immigration services."

Despite the low number of charges Det Supt Smith added that "increased confidence of victims in our services" was leading to more of them reporting rapes.

She added: "However, we are not complacent and we are working hard to try and prevent these crimes from taking place, whilst supporting the victims and bringing those responsible to justice.

"Proactively, Croydon Police are engaged with various women's community groups across the borough, in particular the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, the integrated Family Justice Centre, which has provided a more accessible route for victims of rape in the domestic environment, faith groups and the local education authority."