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New Police rape unit staffed by untrained detectives
21 Oct 2009Scotland Yard came under fire today for staffing a new unit aimed at catching more rapists with untrained detectives.
Almost one in three investigators at the central command may not be offered specialist training for handling sex crimes.
It has emerged that 112 out of 349 staff joined on temporary six-month contracts and will receive training only if they choose to stay.
Officers have also been frustrated by delays in setting up a dedicated intelligence bureau designed to spot linked sex attacks.
The £1.3 million reactive intelligence unit, based at Lewisham police station in south east London, will not be fully up and running until next April.
The situation has raised questions because the unit was designed to improve the force's response to sex crimes after a series of bungled inquiries.
Senior officers were criticised for leaving untrained officers to chase the crimes of taxi driver rapist John Worboys and street stalker Kirk Reid.
Independent investigators are also examining why the force took so long to connect sex attacks with strikingly similar features.
Valerie Brasse, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), said she is concerned about the number of untrained officers.
She said that although all those seconded to the unit will be fully-fledged detectives, some will have had no experience investigating rapes.
Mrs Brasse said: "Given the reasons for setting it up, that seemed a rather uncomfortable place to be."
Earlier this year senior officers decided to bring regional sex crime units, known as Sapphire teams, under the umbrella of one central command.
The new £21.5 million unit was officially unveiled in September after several months of frenetic reorganisation work.
Senior officers want the unit to become a centre of excellence that handles an additional 4,000 sex crimes every year.
Staff with appropriate skills have been brought in from across the force to provide 24-hour cover from 18 bases.
Discussions are under way to bring in a team of specialist prosecutors to handle cases as they are brought to court.
Cheshire chief constable David Whatton, who is the national lead on rape inquiries, has been briefed on progress.
Senior officers hope the measures will help turn around the notoriously poor conviction rate of sex attackers.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "The Met decided that it would implement the new Sapphire structure as quickly as possible so that the benefits of a single command providing increased accountability, consistency and improved victim response 24 hours a day could come into effect as soon as possible.
"Due to the quick time-frame for the implementation, there was always going to be a bedding-in period for all the changes to come into effect.
"Getting 400 staff put through a new training course was never going to happen instantly. However, this is being progressed as quickly as possible with priority being given to permanent members of staff, as you would expect.
"All detective staff are substantive in that role, unlike the large number of trainee detectives previously responsible for rape investigations, and recruitment is under way to permanently fill all temporarily filled roles and to increase the number of sexual offences investigation-trained (SOIT) officers.
"All changes will be in place by April 1 2010. This will include the additional £1.3 million investment in a dedicated reactive intelligence team that will sit within the Sapphire command."
Reader views (1)
Surprise, surprise!
More abject spin and waffle from the Met.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 22/10/2009 10:30
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