{"id":34880,"date":"2019-03-08T17:38:30","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T17:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=34880"},"modified":"2019-03-08T17:38:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T17:38:30","slug":"reports-of-sexual-violence-double-in-south-wales-says-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2019\/03\/08\/reports-of-sexual-violence-double-in-south-wales-says-police-chief\/","title":{"rendered":"Reports of sexual violence double in South Wales, says police chief"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE number of reported rapes and other crimes of sexual violence has more than doubled since 2013, says Chief Constable Matt Jukes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nSpeaking at Cardiff University yesterday, Mr Jukes said pressure on police resources was affecting his force\u2019s ability to tackle violence against women, as well as the rise in knife crime\u00a0which has sparked a national debate on funding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cReduction in resources has come at the point when knife crime has increased, but also the doubling of reports of sexual violence. They are all victims who deserve a high-quality investigation, support and justice,\u201d said the Chief Constable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nThe\u00a0Cardiffian<\/em>\u00a0previously reported<\/a> that knife crime in South Wales\u00a0<\/span>had risen nearly 30% in 2017\/18, with 735 knife-related offences compared to 511 in the previous year<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nMr Jukes said that while knife crime had increased, reports of sexual violence had increased by 108% since 2013 and the force had around 32,000 reported incidents of domestic abuse each year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nHe said his force faced a breadth of demand, including knife crime, but \u201cthe biggest challenge for us is dealing with vulnerability in our community, like domestic abuse\u201d.<\/span>
\nWhile he did not think there was a simple correlation between increasing violent crime and reduced police numbers, Chief Constable Jukes said: \u201cT<\/span>here were 1,000 more people working in our\u00a0<\/span>organisation<\/span>\u00a0at the start of the period of austerity, 400 of them were police officers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cCould I be more effective with 400 more police officers? Of course, I could.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>
\nHowever, he made it clear that extra police funding would have to help tackle vulnerability crime, like domestic abuse, as well as the current spike in knife crime.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nMr Jukes acknowledged that many women struggle to report domestic abuse, saying that there may be around 10,000 repeat victims included in the figure of 32,000 domestic violence incidents reported to the force each year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nExamining South Wales Police\u2019s most recent Crime Outcome data, from 2014\/15, The\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Cardiffian\u00a0<\/em>found that there were 9,208 crimes flagged as domestic abuse.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nThere is currently no specific offence of domestic abuse, but crimes that meet the government definition are then flagged.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nThe government defines domestic abuse as \u201call acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence\u201d committed by a family member or partner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nOf the 9,208 domestic abuse crimes recorded in crime outcomes in South Wales for 2014\/15, only 3,244 of these resulted in someone being charged.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nThere were 3,264 crimes recorded as being difficult to prove in court because the victim did not support action being taken.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cWe know that most victims will endure 30 experiences of abuse before reporting it to the police, so this is the tip of the iceberg,\u201d said Mr Jukes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nWelsh Women\u2019s Aid says: \u201cMany women struggle to escape the abuse permanently, build their independence, and get their lives back.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nThe Chief Constable\u2019s comments came the day before the celebration of International Women\u2019s Day (IWD).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn today\u2019s debate in Parliament on IWD, Jess Phillips,\u00a0<\/span>Labour<\/span>\u00a0MP for Birmingham Yardley, marked the occasion by reading the names of the 130 women who have been killed by men in the last year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nMs<\/span>\u00a0Phillips said: \u201cIn the first International Women\u2019s Day debate I ever attended I promised to read out the names of women killed by men since the last International Women\u2019s Day \u2013 today I will\u00a0<\/span>honour<\/span>\u00a0that promise.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n