The title of an article in yesterday’s Guardian pretty much speaks for itself: “Rape complains were not classified as crimes by the police.” If that hasn’t upset you enough already, let’s continue:

The Metropolitan police failed to investigate scores of rape allegations because officers did not record them as criminal offences, the Guardian has learned.

An internal review by Scotland Yard found that women who complained to police that they feared they may have been raped or suffered a serious sexual assault had their concerns dismissed in up to six London boroughs. In a breach of police policy, officers instead classed the incidents as crime related incidents [CRI], meaning the cases were not investigated properly, informed sources say.

Supposedly this had been going on for years before the investigation of a high profile serial rapist led to a policy review. For years, rape statistics coming out of London have consequently been way unrepresentative of the actual number of assaults being reported.

When the procedure was corrected it led to a spike in recorded rape cases, up by 25% over the past year, at a time when overall crime in London fell.

According to Scotland Yard’s own figures, in the 12 months to December 2008, 2,366 rapes were recorded at the Met, compared with 1,897 in the year before – an increase of 469 recorded rapes. It is believed the bulk of this increase follows the error having been corrected.

Think of the hundreds of victims who were not even given the dignity of having their rape actually recorded as a criminal offense. To go to the police and have them immediately classify your case as not even requiring investigation…maybe not surprising, but still disturbing.

Articles like these really make me wonder about the people responsible for such “errors.” I’ve heard all of the excuses for not taking rape victims seriously–she was drunk, she’s vindictive, she was asking for it–but it’s rare to hear them coming out of the mouths of the actual police officers, school administrators, judges, etc., who often make the decisions that really matter: will we collect evidence? Will we pursue the accused? Will we put the accused on trial? Will we punish him or her if guilty? What is the appropriate punishment? I want to hear the rationale of the folks who have the power to answer those questions. I want to listen to it out loud, or see it on paper, what goes through the head of a police officer taking the story of a woman who thinks she has been raped that allows him to dismiss her without guilt. This person looks the victim in the eye and then files away a paper that says “not enough violence, not enough suffering, we don’t care, let’s save time resources for the real crimes.” I wish the Guardian had interviewed one of the Metropolitan  police and heard their rationale. I wish someone would at least dignify these women with a reason, no matter how unjustifiable it may be.

(via Shakesville, via the F Word)