Why on earth wouldn’t the police believe rape victims? It seems mind-boggling, but plans are afoot by senior officers to abandon the national policy of believing individuals who report rape or sexual assault.

The proposal to abandon the policy - agreed by most chief constables, as well as Met commissioner Cressida Dick - would see the "belief" practice erased from the national guidelines and replaced with “the intention is that victims can be confident they will be listened to”.

The whole thing is rightly causing controversy and has been criticised this week by victims’ commissioner, Baroness Newlove. In a powerful intervention, she has called the plan ‘a retrograde step’ for justice, warning that victims will be less likely to come forward if they think they won’t be believed from the outset.

She also highlighted the risk of reversing the ‘great strides’ made in recent years by the criminal justice system, and challenged the idea that police officers won’t be able to conduct a robust and impartial investigation if they begin by believing the victim. This is at the heart of the matter – and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that chief constables have confused two different things.

Starting from a position of belief, builds public confidence in the police and has undoubtedly contributed to the growing willingness of victims to report sex crimes. It doesn’t mean that a complainant’s allegations won’t be investigated, just as someone reporting the theft of a car or a burglary would expect to have their account tested to see if it stands up to scrutiny.