Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has met the Chief Constable of Cheshire to discuss the under-recording of rape offences by that force.

The number of sexual offences, including rapes, recorded by police forces in England and Wales has increased significantly since the first round of crime data integrity inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The Office for National Statistics has noted that the rise is believed to result from improved crime recording accuracy by forces, and an increased willingness of victims to come forward and report these crimes.

HMIC has made a number of recommendations to Cheshire Police in relation to the accuracy of crime recording. Responding to those recommendations is the responsibility of the Chief Constable, with the directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner holding them to account.