ESSEX Police received a report of a child rape almost every day in the last year, a report has revealed.

Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston says there has been an increase in serious sexual offences reported to police across the country and in Essex there has been a 32 per cent rise in serious sexual offences.

This is an increase of 467 individual offences, with the total number rising in Essex from 1,446 offences to 1,913 crimes.

Mr Alston said: "But the stark reality is that in 2014-15, there were 985 serious sexual offences against children reported to Essex Police, of which 361 were rapes. Under UK law, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18 so the recorded offences capture a wide range of age groups.

"However, this means that almost every single day, the rape of a child is being reported to Essex Police.



"One child rape is one too many, but harm of this scale is highly distressing and has to be tackled. As a society, we must act to address this serious and shocking harm."

Mr Alston has released detailed crime data showing the increase in serious sexual offences from April 2014 to March 2015.

He said: "The 32 per cent increase in serious sexual offences in our county is in line with a national increase of 32 per cent of all sexual offences comparing calendar year 2014 with 2013, reported by the Office of National Statistics."

At Mr Alston's request, Essex Police produced a detailed breakdown of serious sexual offences which can be seen in a series of tables here.

He said: "I’ve published this information as I believe it will help inform the debate, explain some of the underlying trends, and most crucially of all help bring offenders to justice and protect victims from harm. If together we are to address the problem, we need to understand precisely what is going on."

The number of serious sexual offences reported to Essex Police has nearly doubled, rising by 81 per cent in the past two years. In 2012-13, 1,059 serious sexual offences, including 451 rapes, were reported to the force; by 2014-15, there were 1,913 such offences reported, of which 879 were rapes.

There has also been an increase in the reporting of "historic” sexual offences – sometimes now referred to as non-recent.

The use of the phrase "historic” does not mean that the crime is any less severe. However, there may be practical obstacles to investigation, such as the lack of forensic opportunities and difficulty in tracking down witnesses.

In this context, the term historic is used to describe cases where the crime occurred more than a year before it was reported to police.

In 2012-13, 246 serious sexual offences were reported to Essex Police which were categorised as historic. By 2014-15, this number had risen to 481 crimes.

The increased reporting of serious sexual offences during the same time period means that the proportion of reported serious sexual offences which were historic in nature was essentially stable, rising just a little from 23 per cent to 25 per cent. This means that around a quarter of sexual offences are reported to police more than a year after the crime occurred.

Mr Alston said the "Savile effect" - which has been termed after the large number of reports received of historic offences after publicity around the case of paedophile Jimmy Savile - may have caused an increase in reports.

He said: "From 2012 onwards, statements by police forces, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the government have made it clear that Jimmy Savile was a prolific sexual predator, with many of his crimes being against children. It is believed that the publicity given to Savile’s crimes and those of other high profile sexual predators, and their investigation by the police and other authorities, has led to an increased confidence amongst members of the public in reporting sexual offences.

"We cannot be certain, but my judgement is that the large increase in the number of serious sexual offences reported to police in the past two years, and the fact that a quarter of these reports are of "historic” offences, suggest that a ‘Savile effect” may well be a factor.

"I welcome this as in reporting these crimes for investigation by the police, victims may begin to find some relief from the torment and violence they have suffered."

The analysis of serious sexual offences in Essex also reveals that in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, there were more child victims than adult victims.

Mr Alston added: "My judgement is that the proportion of serious sexual offences where a person is charged is still low, and I am particularly concerned that only around one in every five serious sexual offences against a child results in charges being brought."

The figures also show that 40 per cent of serious sexual offences reported by adults have occurred in a domestic abuse context.

In Essex, in 2013-14, around 12 per cent of serious sexual offences reported to police were committed by a stranger, and in 2014-15, this proportion had dropped to 8 per cent. Sexual attacks by strangers remain uncommon.

Mr Alston added: "As Police and Crime Commissioner, I will continue to encourage anyone who has been the victim of a serious sexual offence to report this to police. This will enable officers to investigate the crime and to work with partner agencies to provide any safeguarding or support that may be necessary.

"I cannot say often enough: 'if you have been the victim of crime, please tell Essex Police'. You can also report crime anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

"This analysis is unsettling but if, together, we are going to act to combat serious sexual crime, it is essential that we understand who is committing these horrific crimes and who the victims are likely to be.

"I intend to commission further research to ensure we understand serious sexual crime in our county as completely as possible.

"We must continue to act to combat serious sexual crime, to bring perpetrators to justice, and to support victims."

If you want support and access to safeguarding services, you can also use the Essex Victims Gateway to learn of specialist support services in your area with advisors trained in working with victims of serious sexual offences. Click here for the Essex Victims Gateway.

Essex has specialist agencies such as the South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre (SERICC) who can be contacted on 01375 380609, the Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SoSRC) contactable on 01702 667590, and the Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA), whose number is 01206 769795.