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   Police figures show over 21,000 child sex offences last year says NSPCC
Every day last year an average of nearly 60 sex offences against children were recorded by police in England and Wales the NSPCC reveals today (Monday 25 January). The statistics, obtained under a Freedom of Information request from all 43 forces in England and Wales, show under 18s were victims of sex crimes, including rape, gross indecency and incest, on 21,618 occasions during 2008-091. One in seven of the children (3,035) were younger than 10 and, of these, 1,000 were five and under. In more than three out of four cases the offences were committed against those aged 10-17 (17,091)2. The statistics show girls were six times more likely than boys to be the victims of a sex crime. And the number of incidents where the offender knew the victim was four times higher than those involving strangers3. Latest figures from Greater Manchester Police show that there were 1168 known sex offences against young people in 2008-09 with 201 being 10 years old or younger. Eight victims were aged three, and one was just two years old. The Home Office gathers data from police forces for its annual crime report, which shows there was a total of 51,4884 for all sexual offences in 2008-09, including both adults and children and only splits the figure to show those over or under 13. Combining these statistics blurs the picture and even though detailed age breakdowns of victims are collected by police they are not passed to the Home Office. This is the second year5 the NSPCC has collected this data and it is again calling on the UK Government to publish these details and to clearly link them with the number of convictions and other penalties resulting from the recorded offences. This information could then feed into a national sex abuse prevention strategy as well as helping the development of local services to treat child victims. NSPCC director of strategy and development Phillip Noyes said: “We know that as most abuse goes unreported, such figures can only ever give an indication of the true extent of the problem. Many children do not speak out about the sexual abuse they have suffered because they are scared they will not be believed, but help is always available to them through such services as ChildLine, the free, confidential 24-hour helpline number 0800 1111 provided by the NSPCC. Children and young people can also log on to www.childline.org.uk for help and advice. “We also need to remember that some children are so young they find it difficult to protect themselves or tell anyone what is happening. So it is vital that adults look out for them and call the NSPCC Helpline, 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk, if they are concerned.” 1. The NSPCC asked each police force in England and Wales via a Freedom of Information request. All forces responded. The questions were: 1. How many children (under18) were victims of sex offences committed in your police force area during the year April 2008 – March 2009. 2. Can you supply a gender and exact age breakdown for these victims? 3. What is the relationship of the alleged offender to the victim, if known? 2. Not all police forces gave a specific age or gender breakdown. Some only gave age ranges. 3. Nearly two-thirds of the forces (26) provided details about offender relationships. 4. Source: Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales 08/09. 5. The total number of recorded offences for 2007-08 was 20,758 but one force did not provide any statistics. Superintendent Annette Anderson from Greater Manchester Police's Salford Division said: "Sex offences against children and adults are a very serious crime and I encourage victims or anyone who knows of a victim to contact police. Salford Division has a specialist unit with staff trained to deal with victims of this type of crime." Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
