NCJ Number
208698
Date Published
2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report explores the nature of rapes reported to the Metropolitan Police Department in Great Britain.
Abstract
Despite the fact that the overall crime rate has fallen, the crime of rape has increased in recent years and makes up one quarter of all recorded sexual offenses in England and Wales. This report is based on an analysis of over 5,000 rapes of females reported to the Metropolitan Police Department over the 2-year period spanning 2001/02 through 2002/03. Key findings revealed that rape victimization was concentrated in the younger age groups; almost one in six rapes were committed against girls under the age of 16 years. The most frequently recorded rapes were carried out by acquaintances and strangers. Victims of stranger rapes were usually approached outdoors (54 percent), while the majority of victims who knew the suspect were approached in their own homes (64 percent). Only 1 percent of rapes involved “blitz attacks” of sudden overwhelming force. In most cases, no additional violence was used and in more than 90 percent of rapes there was no weapon shown or discussed. Only 6 percent of reported rapes involved more than one perpetrator. Another 6 percent of rapes involved drug use. Figures, references