New figures show that rapists and child sex offenders are being given cautions by the Dyfed-Powys Police in Wales instead of facing the courts.
The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 33 people arrested for sexual offences were given cautions, reprimands, penalty notices and warnings between April 2009 and March 2010.
One offence listed as being dealt with in this manner was the rape of a female child under the age of 13. Eleven other offenders escaped prosecution after sexually assaulting females aged 13 or over, as did three after sexually assaulting a child under the age of 16.
A caution is not a criminal conviction, but does result in a police record for five years.
A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said, “It should be noted that often such outcomes arise because of the express wishes of complainants who are reluctant to progress matters to a court hearing.
“As an added safeguard, cautions administered for the most serious, indictable offences are also scrutinised by the Crown Prosecution Service.”
Claude Knights, director of Kidscape, a children’s charity, expressed her concern saying, “Such sexual offences are very grave and have long-term effects on young victims. It is difficult for them to develop a sense of closure when the sentence given to the perpetrator does not reflect the severity of the crime.
“The message sent out to predators needs to be a very strong one, and sentences…need to act as strong deterrents.”
Source: This is South Wales 07 June 2010