An extra 196 officers have been drafted in by Met chiefs to tackle sex offences after a rise in the number of rapes being reported in the capital.

Scotland Yard chiefs said the staffing boost was part of a package of measures intended to increase the number of offenders convicted and create a “unique support service” for victims.

Other changes include an increase in the number of prosecutors working with police on sex offence cases and new training for officers about the law on consent and the “myths and stereotypes” that could cause victims’ complaints to be wrongly dismissed.

Two new “child houses”, to provide specialist care for young sex abuse victims, will open next year in a move funded by City Hall and the NHS.

The Met has also trained 25 volunteers to work as “wellbeing ambassadors” to provide “welfare support” to officers struggling to cope with a large number of sex case investigations.

The latest figures show that 5,625 rapes were reported in London in the year to the end of April. That compares with a total of 5,133 in the previous 12 months, a rise of 9.6 per cent.

The reforms come after major report for the Met and the CPS — following a fall in the number of rape cases reaching court — found flaws in how sex offence investigations were conducted.

The report, by Scotland’s former chief prosecutor Dame Elish Angiolini QC, made 46 recommendations when it was published last year.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe today said that the addition of 196 more officers to the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command would help to deliver “a vision for the future” which “focused on increased reporting, bringing offenders to justice and providing a truly unique support system for all victims of sexual violence.”

He added: “I’m confident the changes we are seeing and which continue to be made will make this vision a reality.”

Baljit Ubhey, London’s chief crown prosecutor, said the CPS was also determined to “improve our service to rape victims and bring perpetrators to justice”.