Policing responds to the Angiolini Inquiry part 2

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Millichap, Director of the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP), said:

"We welcome this report and want to acknowledge the families, victims and survivors who have been affected and who have taken time to give such valuable contributions and insight. We must be led by what they tell us.

"Policing is determined to respond collectively to the harms caused to women and girls, and to work in partnership with all the agencies mentioned in this report. We will now consider the findings and recommendations carefully and in detail, acknowledging urgent action is required.

"Women and girls have the right to live their lives free from the fear of harm and it is our priority to keep them safe and reduce the prevalence of these crimes.

"We are told frequently by women and girls, and in this report, that they are likely to change their behaviour in order to feel safe. For too long this has been seen as inevitable. It is not, and we agree that our focus must be on the relentless pursuit of perpetrators and spotting patterns in offending. We are already working proactively to recognise, intervene, and interrupt predatory behaviour in public spaces, and are pleased the report acknowledges this work.

"We should not wait for a crime to be reported to act, and we have seen some very effective joint operations with partners that target the right places, and work together to make them safer. We want this to feel consistent across policing and we know that sometimes it doesn’t. This report rightly challenges us to create that consistency, implementing what works and the NCVPP will play a critical role in setting national standards.

"Our focus is on equipping officers and staff to recognise and respond to sexual violence in public spaces, building on the effective progress already made for rape and serious sexual offence investigations, which is highlighted by Lady Elish Angiolini.

"Vitally, we must build trust with victims and survivors, so they feel able to report. We know that too often they may not, and as a result we do not see and respond to all the harm that is eroding the safety of women and girls.

"We have already introduced new national training, working directly with those affected by these crimes, to improve responses to non-contact sexual offences. It is by listening to the voices of victims that we will create a policing culture fit to respond, and that can be trusted.

"Crucially, policing will not make the difference we need unless we are working in effective collaborations across the range of partnerships necessary to prevent harms in the first place. The report calls for a whole system response to prevent sexually motivated crimes, recognising that the roots are societal and preventable. We welcome the commitment the report seeks to create long term and sustainable resourcing.

"To anybody who is experiencing these types of crime, we urge you to report to us. We are changing, and we welcome the focus this report brings to help us change more."