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Sexual Offences: Coventry

Volume 493: debated on Thursday 11 June 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of crimes related to sexual offences in Coventry in the last 12 months. (276690)

The Government are committed to tackling sexual violence across the country. In 2007, it published a three year national Cross Government Action Plan on Sexual Violence and Abuse. Since the publication of the action plan, the Government have taken a number of measures including introducing specially trained officers and specialist rape prosecutors; supporting police forces to develop rape action plans; and funding a pilot of a dedicated rape investigation team. In April 2009, the Government announced a package of measures, having worked closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), to help ensure that victims of sexual violence receive a consistent, high quality service in every force. These measures include a new Rape Performance Group, led by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to monitor police and CPS performance on rape and undertake continuous assessments of performance; new National Policing Improvement Agency ‘best practice’ guidance for the police and Crown Prosecution Service on investigating and prosecuting rape; an expert NPIA/ACPO/CPS support team to ensure consistent implementation of this new guidance; and helping every police force to ensure that all victims are seen by a specially trained officer within an hour of reporting.