Time taken to report incidents of sexual assault from April to October 2021
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.21.022357
I note you seek access to the following information:
I was wondering, as in the original first request, if you could provide the data for "10 Years +" please so that we can have a like-for-like comparison? This would be very helpful!
*** Previous request 01/FOI/21/021910: ***
Would it be possible to also get the data with the exact same criteria but for those reported between 01 April 2021 and 31 October 2021 please?
*** Previous request 01/FOI/21/021172: ***
May I please request the distribution of time taken for incidents of Sexual Assault on female aged 13 or over and without penetration that were reported to the police in 2019 and 2020.
For example:
Reported Same Day: 50%
1 day - 1 week: 10%
1 week - 1 month: 10%
1 month - 1 year: 10%
1 year - 5 years: 10%
5 years - 10 years: 5%
10 years+: 5%
If either of the specific features of the incident are not available, just instances of Sexual Assault would be satisfactory.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
I have attached an excel spreadsheet with the answers to your questions. Please note there are three separate tabs within the spreadsheet, titled cover sheet, notes and table. The notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to ensure the report is interpreted correctly.
DATASET CAVEATS
In supplying the attached data there are caveats that you will need to note. The PAU have obtained the data from a system called the Crime Report Information System (CRIS). CRIS is used to record criminal offences that have been reported within the MPS district. Police Officers and Police Staff can create a crime record and are able to document actions related to a crime investigation, on a crime report.
In order to complete your request, the committed on date has been taken away from recorded date to determine the length of time between the offence occurring, and the offence being reported and a Crime Record being created. Please note, that occasionally for very late reported offences or offences that have been committed over an extended period, the exact offence date is not known. This being the case, it is possible that some data could end up in the wrong time grouping.
It is also worth noting that the later the recording, the less accurate the committed date tends to be. This is particularly relevant if the assault was ongoing in nature (if someone is assaulted by the same suspect over a period of time and they report it all to the police at the same time, under the Finished Incident Rule, we would record 1 crime). Some data can show as the 1st of a month if the victim cannot remember the exact date, or sometimes 1 January if the victim can only remember the year.