Thousands of officers specially trained to investigate rape in bid to put more sex offenders in jail

The Home Secretary vows to put more sex offenders behind bars as police receive specialist training, as Liz Summers reports.

Thousands of police officers have been specially trained to investigate reports of rape, in a bid to overhaul how rape and sexual offences are handled.

It's being described as a "significant milestone" by the Home Secretary, who has vowed to put more sex offenders behind bars.

The training means victims of “often complex” offences will “receive better support throughout the process as their perpetrators are brought to justice”, the Home Office said.

It comes after the Prime Minister was forced to reject claims that rape had effectively become "decriminalised". Rishi Sunak instead insisted that improvements had been made in police probes.

More than 4,500 police officers in England and Wales have now completed the specialist training, according to the College of Policing.

This included officers in each of the 43 forces. The number of police trained per force has not been disclosed.

This is more than double a target set by the Government to train up 2,000 by May.

Mr Cleverly said exceeding the target was “another significant milestone in our efforts to transform the way the criminal justice system deals with rape and sexual offences”.

He described the training as a "very positive step" and one which will improve "the police's ability".

He added: “We have gone further than ever before to protect women and girls, but we are not slowing down.

“Building on the progress we have made so far, we will continue to drive up prosecutions, protect victims and put more sex offenders behind bars,” he added.

New police recruits will also face mandatory training on responding to rape and sexual offences.

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper welcomed the “limited progress” but warned: “It has been far too slow and goes nowhere near far enough to tackle serious violence against women and girls or to reverse all the failings of the last 10 years.”

Adult rape prosecutions are at their highest level in 13 years, according to the latest Ministry of Justice figures.

There were 2,558 prosecutions last year. This is an increase of 44% from 2022 when there were 1,778 prosecutions.

Last year there were 636 convictions and 627 sentences for adult rape.

But according to Home Office figures for the same period, the proportion of suspects being taken to court for rape is still among the lowest levels recorded, with a charge rate of 2.6%.

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, said the training was a “positive step towards a more supportive criminal justice system for victims of rape and sexual assault”.

But she stressed it was “vital” the Crown Prosecution Service and police continued to work together to make sure the work has “lasting impact” as she called for “sustained resourcing and leadership” to be dedicated to the programme long term.

The announcement marks a year since Home Office-funded Operation Soteria was rolled out across forces to improve how police investigated sexual offences.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…