64% think police treat rape allegations seriously, while 7% would not report sexual assault
Almost two thirds of Britons say that police treat allegations of rape and sexual assault seriously. Meanwhile, over half of Brits think police and justice systems are ineffective at prosecuting people accused of sexual assault or rape, our poll shows.
- When it comes to allegations of sexual assault, 64% in total feel that police treat these claims seriously (41% fairly seriously, 23% very seriously)
- Less than a quarter (23%) say that police don’t take rape allegations seriously
- Over half (52%) say police and justice systems are ineffective at prosecuting people accused of sexual assault and rape (39% fairly ineffective, 13% very ineffective)
- 31% say the police and justice systems are effective at prosecuting people accused of sexual assault or rape (28% fairly effective, 3% very effective)
Sentence reductions
Currently, people accused of crimes are able to receive a reduction to their sentence if they plead guilty at an early stage and avoid the need for a trial. The majority of the public say that that people who admit they are guilty of rape and/or sexual assault should not be granted a sentence reduction.
- 62% don’t feel people who admit they are guilty of sexual assault or rape should be given a reduction to their sentence
- 27% people believe that those who plead guilty to sexual assault or rape in the early stages of prosecution and avoid the need for a trial should receive a reduction to their sentence
A study by the Sentencing Council in 2011 founds that the public often perceive sentencing as too lenient and tended to be generally unsupportive of reductions in sentencing for those entering a guilty plea. The findings also state, however, that those who had a better understanding of the system and how it works were more likely to report confidence in sentencing policies.
Would you report sexual assault?
The consensus among Britons is that if they were victims of sexual assault, they would report it to the police, however around 1 in 20 claims they would not report it.
- 79% of people say if they were the victim of sexual assault, they would report it to the police
- 13% say they are not sure if they would report it to the police or not
- Meanwhile over 1 in 20 (7%) say no they probably wouldn't report it to the police
- The number of young people who would report being the victim of sexual assault is slightly lower than older generations, with 75% of 18 to 24 year olds saying they would, along with 79% of 25 to 39 year olds and 85% of respondents over 60 years of age.
These results are in light of the Government's recent launch of an anti-sexual abuse campaign aimed at teenagers to challenge the misconceptions about 'date rape.'
Jon Brown, head of the NSPCC's sexual abuse programme, has said "We want to bring this issue out into the open and get young people talking about the importance of consent. They will report a sex assault if it's committed by an adult, but when another teenager carries out the offence the same alarm bells don't ring”
See the full results of our poll (pg 10)
