Judge attacks police rape delay

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A judge has criticised police for taking 11 hours to respond to an emergency call made by a 19-year-old woman who said she had been raped.

The judge made the comment after a jury at Peterborough Crown Court cleared a 15-year-old boy of raping the woman.

Judge Sean Enright told the court the delay was "lamentable".

Cambridgeshire Police said the judge's full comments would be studied, adding the person who took the call failed to identify the fact a rape had occurred.

The court heard the woman had called police at 1649 GMT on 26 November last year claiming she had been assaulted in Peterborough, but she was not seen by an officer until 0353 GMT the following morning.

No officer attended until seven minutes to four in the morning - these facts are lamentable, to put it mildly Judge Sean Enright

Jurors heard she called the police for the second time at 1719 GMT, informing them she had just seen her attacker.

She was not met until 1830 GMT when a Police Community Support Officer attended the scene and sent her home.

"No officer attended until seven minutes to four in the morning - these facts are lamentable, to put it mildly," said Judge Enright.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hopkins said the judge's comments would be studied "closely".

He said the call taker failed to identify a rape had occurred, which had a "direct impact" on the other call takers who were involved in the incident.

He added the officer who took the emergency call had been removed from "front-line call-taking".

"Our failure to send officers to the victim straight away occurred after the call taker failed to identify the fact a rape had occurred and the need for an immediate response," he said.

He said an investigation into the incident had taken place and new procedures to deal with serious sexual offences had since been put into action.

"We note the comments made by Judge Enright and will study them closely to establish whether any further changes need to be made," he added.