On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team gave to you..

A zero tolerance approach towards anybody who commits rape and sexual violence

The Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team just keeps on giving! Yesterday (Tuesday, December 22) the team focused their energies on reducing rape and sexual violence.

Throughout the day, all resources were concentrated on reducing these horrific crimes.

Here’s what the team achieved:

• Proactive patrols in areas of Northampton linked to the sexual exploitation of women, resulting in one arrest for breach of a court order
• Two stop searches completed in the same area with links to drugs
• Intelligence logs submitted in relation to soliciting and kerb-crawling
• Safeguarding visits and referrals made for females who are vulnerable to working in the sex industry

Sergeant Tor Lindsay of the Northampton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Victims of rape and serious sexual crime are often selected and targeted by offenders because of ease of access and opportunity.

“They may be someone’s current or ex-partner, a family member, a friend, someone who is vulnerable through mental health, learning or physical disabilities, someone who sells sex, someone who is isolated or in an institution, has poor communication skills, is young or is compromised through drink and drugs.

“This is wide range of vulnerabilities and not surprisingly, this type of crime affects all genders, ages and ethnicities. This Force is committed to supporting all victims of sexual violence and yesterday we were sending out a clear message – anybody who commits these terrible offences can expect to be locked up for a very long time.

“We understand this is a sensitive topic and it takes great courage to speak out against offenders, but we hope the recent articles in the news around successful prosecutions of rape and sexual violence sends a message to other victims that they will be listened to.

“If you have been the victim of a sexual offence, please report it to the police as soon as possible. If you don’t want to speak to the police straight away, there are other agencies that can offer support such as Rape Crisis England and Wales - 0808 802 9999 and The Sexual Assault Referral Centre – 01604 745005. You can also approach The Salvation Army and Victim Support.”