SERIOUS sex crimes are on the rise in Dorset and victims dealt with by the county’s crisis workers range from seven months to 84 years old.

More than 400 sexual offence victims have passed through the doors of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Dorset in just two years.

Crime in Dorset is at a 19-year low but there has been an increase in the number of serious sex crimes, hate crime and alcohol-related violence.

Dorset Police claim the increase is largely due to Operation Yewtree – the Jimmy Savile investigation.

The Dorset Echo decided to find out more about what support is available for Dorset’s sex crime victims...

THERE are only six crisis workers dedicated to helping sex crime victims across the whole of Dorset.

Their clients, who include men, women and children, have been victim to crimes which range from sexual touching to rape.

Situated next to Bournemouth Police Station, staff at Twelve’s Company, which is known as the Dorset SARC, work closely with officers in sex crime cases and can be the first point of contact for victims.

A crisis worker is on shift 24-hours-a-day and can be called out at anytime.

Since the SARC opened in Dorset two years ago, the crisis workers have seen 406 female victims and 22 males.

Of these, 62 were aged under 16-years-old, 200 were between 16 and 25-years-old and 164 were aged over 25.

These figures span a period between March 2012 and June 2014.

Manager Michele Challiss said: “We are the voice of the client.

“We believe every client is genuine and each one is treated and believed in same way.

“Our job isn’t to find out if a victim is genuine – that’s an issue for the police.”

She revealed that there had been an increase in telephone calls in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile investigation.

In these cases, victims are referred on to the Dorset Rape Crisis team as no forensic examination is needed.

The CPS revealed last year that the conviction rate for rape prosecutions had increased in recent years but in Dorset there are a large number of reported sex crimes where charges are never pressed.

Statistics show that convictions continued to rise to the highest on record, from 58 per cent in 2007/08 to 63 per cent in 2012/13.

Fears of hostile treatment by the authorities may be why many victims prefer not to come forward.

There are dozens of SARCS in England and Wales.

Victims can be seen quickly at any time of the day or night.

Numbers increase around Christmas, university fresher’s weeks and the summer months.

Michele revealed that it can often coincide with any time when people are drinking more than usual.

The Dorset SARC team are now determined to raise their profile.

They have been working in local schools and also had a stall at an LGBT pride festival in Bournemouth.

Michele said: “These efforts have led to a number of victim disclosures.

“Many victims spoke to us at the Pride event but sadly none came forward to report it officially.”

The team works closely with Dorset Rape Crisis which provides independent sexual violence advisors and can offer support through the prosecution process.

“We are able to provide anonymous intelligence to the police with the client’s permission which means the victims identity will not be disclosed to the police, but the information on the perpetrator will be used as intelligence,” Michele revealed.

She added: “We also work with working girls. Anyone that has been assaulted has the right to be supported.

“We’ve even had a crisis worker support a client in hospital before.”

She said: “Some affect you more than others.

“All crisis workers are provided with regular clinical supervision as well as group supervision which is very important for staff to have with the types of cases we deal with on a daily basis.“We have identified a real lack of support for our youngsters in Dorset but it is being addressed.

“We need to make sure that everybody, including all the services and agencies involved with the clients, talk to each other.”

• DORSET Police figures on the number of reported serious sex crimes in the past five years. The figures relate up to the point of charge and not court results.

In 2009, the number of crimes totalled 581 with 93 charges, 2010 had 569 reported crimes with 90 charges.

In 2011, there were 473 crimes and 82 charges while 2012 had 415 crimes and 95 charges.

In 2013, there were 471 crimes and 96 charges.

 

• FIGURES put to the Dorset Police and Crime Panel revealed that serious sex crimes had increased in the last year.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “This increase is largely due to Operation Yewtree – the Jimmy Savile investigation. For this reason the increase has been seen across the country and not just in Dorset.”

There were 420 incidents in 2012/13 and this increased to 472 the following year, a 12.4 per cent increase.

However, the panel heard that many of the sex crimes related to historic incidents.

The report states: “The Savile enquiry and a number of similar cases has led to an increase in reported serious sexual offences and a reduction in the Sanction Detection Rate (SDR).

“The number of recorded crimes finished the year as 52 more than in 2012/13 with the increase being in primarily cases of sexual assault, not rape, and taking place in May to September.”

 

• Services are 'improving'

POLICE and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill said: “The SARC provides support to victims of some of the most serious crimes and I am pleased to see a continued improvement in how we are looking after those victims.

“For example, recently we have helped to negotiate rooms at Bournemouth Police Station which had previously been used for non-SARC matters, to be dedicated solely to the SARC to improve privacy for victims of serious sexual assault.

“We are committed to helping to fund the SARC for the entire duration of the contract.”

 

• Victims taken to referral centre to speak to specially-trained staff

WHEN a sex crime is reported to Dorset Police and the victim needs a medical examination the officer takes them to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre to undergo a forensic examination.

The unit is designed to make the client as comfortable as possible.

The side door is unmarked and that is where men, women or children who have recently been assaulted enter the building.

The victim is then led to a sealed door marked Forensic Room, a sterile space to avoid the potential contamination of evidence.

Dorset’s police service is known for handling sexual assaults well, and officers have been given extensive training.

Urine samples and mouth swabs are immediately taken in a bid to find evidence.

Police may have to seize the victim’s clothing but the crisis workers have a supply of new items on hand.

In the forensics room the victim will give their account to the officer and a crisis worker will be called to the centre immediately.

A door from this room leads to the sealed medical room where the victim, crisis worker and any requested family members will be present.

The doctor has been called and the medical examination is carried out. The doctor is looking for injuries and bruising including bites, scratches, finger nail scrapings, hair samples, marks on the body and may take intimate samples.

The client can be in the SARC for approximately six hours and the examination lasts around 30 minutes to an hour.

Samples are labelled with time, date and type of evidence and signed by the doctor. This evidence will have to stand up to scrutiny if it goes to court.

When this is carried out they can go to the bathroom for a shower before being invited to return for a video interview with an officer at a later date.

The victim will be advised on and supported in the process of pressing charges.

Pregnancy tests are on offer as well as the morning after pill and advice on sexually transmitted diseases.

Forensic evidence can be kept in a freezer for a limited time period in case they decide to take action at a later date.

Sometimes the victims are intoxicated and take a lie down in the family room and the crisis worker will place a sheet down to avoid losing evidence.

The team aim to get uniformed officers out of the building as soon as possible and a main aim is to avoid getting the victim to have to keep re-telling their experience.

SARC then refer the victim to an independent sexual violence advisor who will be able to support them as their case goes through the criminal justice system, but they can also refer to other appropriate services or agencies.

Victims can leave whenever they want to and for those clients who decide not to press charges, the support is still available.

 

• Would you like to speak to a crisis worker at the Dorset SARC? Visit the website twelvescompany.co.uk, email dorsetsarc@twelvescompany.co.uk or call 01202 552056. Dorset Rape Crisis Support Centre can be reached directly on 01202 308855. Twelve’s Company is a charity which also manages the contract for a SARC in Plymouth and Dorset. It is commissioned by NHS England PCC.