Sexual abuse involving children rises

Devon and Cornwall Police have responded to a report from the NSPCC released today, Wednesday, June 17, 2015, regarding reports of sexual abuse involving children.

The NSPCC suggests reports of sexual abuse involving children have risen from 747 in 2012/13 to 1,125 in 2013/14. The figures have come as a result of Freedom of Information Act requests to police forces nationwide.

Head of the Devon and Cornwall Police’s Public Protection Unit Detective Superintendent Paul Northcott said: “It is important to highlight the figures quoted by the NSPCC today specify the age of the victim when the crime took place, and not their age when they reported this to Devon and Cornwall Police.

“Looking at the figures from April 2013 through to March 2014, around a third of these crimes are of a historic nature, where a person has found the courage to come forward to report this to us and in some cases, decades after the initial crime took place.

“Therefore these figures don’t necessarily show that there is a rise in sexual abuse in our area, but more a confidence in victims to come forward and no longer suffer in silence."

He added: “Devon and Cornwall Police actively encourage the reporting of all sexual offences and are determined to provide the best possible service to the victims. We have specialist sexual offence and domestic abuse investigation teams, dedicated child protection teams and sexual offences liaison officers to ensure victims are properly supported by the police.

“We continually monitor our performance in respect of this type of crime and work hard with our partners including those in health and the criminal justice system to ensure that we constantly improve our investigations and the service we provide to victims.

“Devon and Cornwall Police are committed to supporting victims of sexual abuse, no matter when the crime took place, and we will work tirelessly to ensure offenders are brought to justice.”