Cases of sexual violence in Essex have increased by 140 percent since 2015/16

Between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the number of reports of rape and sexual assault – in which the vast majority of victims are women – rose by 140 percent, from 1,001 to 2,420.

In the following 12 months, the number fell slightly to 2,171.

Roger Hirst, the newly re-elected crime commissioner for Essex, said the figures showed “there is a problem out there and we need to get it under control”.

He acknowledged that the increase in cases was a “very real problem” and stressed that “sexual brutality is normalized on the internet.”

Mr Hirst said: “This is clearly the result of many different developments. On the one hand, we are undoubtedly stronger in our ability to support rape victims. And as a result, more women are coming forward to report rape because they believe they will have a better chance of getting justice.

“But there is also a very real problem: the fact that there has been an increase in sexual violence over the last ten years – we don’t know the reasons for this.

“It could be because sexual violence is normalized online, I don’t know. But it could be a lot of different things. I would hesitate to say that the whole story is because the police have gotten better at helping people come forward.”

He expressed his satisfaction that, despite an improved reporting rate, there had been a 10 percent reduction in reports over the past twelve months.

He added: “It’s increased by 150 percent, and that has something to do with society, and it has something to do with the police getting better there.”

He said: “We have a job to do. It’s a problem. And we have to do something about it.”

“The good news is that a lot of work has already been done on the interventions. We are now at the point where we can implement them.”

He added that police need help to carry out more prosecutions – which is currently hampered by a chronic lack of capacity in the courts, he said.

He said: “We have a new Attorney General – I have spoken to him twice about this particular issue. We need to prosecute more people. At the moment we only prosecute someone when we and the CPS are absolutely certain that we have a case that will succeed. That is partly because it is good to succeed, but partly because the time commitment and pressure on the court system is so high. We are prosecuting too few.”