Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Deferred
Paragraph: 64
Mandate Home Office and MoJ to collect and publish ethnicity data for rape victims
Recommendation
It is important that the justice system captures data about victims that can give insight into whether their protected characteristics might affect their criminal justice journeys. We recommend that the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice work with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure as an initial priority that the ethnicity data of rape victims and survivors is collected and published transparently, for example, through the performance scorecards.
Government Response Summary
The government discussed existing work and funding for initiatives addressing vulnerability, such as the d/Deaf Access to Policing Strategy and the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, and committed to updating the Committee on this within 12 months, but did not specifically commit to collecting and publishing ethnicity data for rape victims.
Paragraph Reference:
64
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
As we stated in July 2021 in our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, we recognise that, sadly, certain groups are more likely than others to be victim of particular crime types. The CSEW showed that amongst adults aged 16 to 74 in the year ending March 2020, disabled and d/Deaf people were more than twice as likely to have been victims of rape than people without a disability. In 2017, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) launched the d/Deaf Access to Policing Strategy. The strategy’s three pillars aim to: • Increase the availability and improve the quality of sign language interpreters and language service professionals (LSP) through the development of an accredited course for LSPs working in the police setting. The Police Approved Interpreter and Translator (PAIT) scheme sets standards for all LSPs in terms of qualifications and experience to work in a police setting. There are several courses being created nationally specifically for LSPs working in the police setting for d/Deaf people with a view to it being accredited as part of the national BSL qualifications. Hampshire and Greater Manchester Police have these courses in development and are supporting a national expert in developing the accreditation with the national examining body. • Make reasonable adjustments to 999 and 101 calls through the implementation of on-demand video interpreting. 999BSL will be introduced on 17 June 2022 enabling d/Deaf people to access 999 using BSL. Some forces also have a video relay service (VRS) for 101 and for those forces this platform can also be used as a video remote interpreting service (VRI) to aid communication at the scene of incidents, custody and front counters. • Establish a network with a specified point of contact in each force; create a repository of accessible resources and national guidance to enable forces to respond to incidents involving disabled or deaf people. This network was established in December 2019. The College of Policing hosts resources on how to respond to incidents involving disabled or deaf people. In addition, the NPCC Social Media and Digital Engagement portfolio has established a national operating model of best practice, which includes responding to members of the public 24 hours a day across social media channels. This ensures citizens receive an equivalent standard of service as they would on a telephone call. By both listening and responding to citizens the police seek to build greater trust. There are currently 15 forces operating this model with a potential to expand this year. The police are actively promoting this practice and supporting forces who wish to adopt this model. Successful engagement in this space can lead to someone messaging the police when they would never have previously intended to do so; this has led to reports from very vulnerable victim, demonstrating the value of this model. Forces operating this way have also received positive feedback from those that use the service; this includes those with neurodiverse conditions and some victims of sexual offences who have said they found it easier to type than talk. Some deaf users have fed back that they preferred to use social media and live chat to make a police report as it was something they were able to do themselves without additional support from anybody else. The Home Office is providing over £2 million in funding to the NPCC this year for the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP). The programme identifies best policing practice in responding to crimes such as child sexual abuse and exploitation, rape, domestic abuse, county lines, and modern slavery and shares this across all forces in England and Wales to ensure that frontline officers are able to achieve the best possible outcomes for all victims of these crimes. The programme’s work includes benchmarking all forces against the National Vulnerability Action Plan, with actions relating to police recognition of vulnerability, engagement with victims and underrepresented communities, and understanding of local services. The Home Secretary will write to the Committee within 12 months to update Committee members on the progress of this work.