NORTH Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has said the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system needs to be called into question, after a small fall in the number of reported adult rapes.

Julia Mulligan said she was determined to tackle a chronic under-recording of rape and sex assaults after a Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary study showed 106 adult rapes were reported in the county in the 12 months to March 2013, compared with 111 the previous year.

The study also showed North Yorkshire Police had reversed a decline in the number of recorded adult rape suspects being prosecuted, with 16 per cent of 106 being prosecuted over the year to March 2013, where two years previously the figure had been nine per cent.

The force’s prosecution rate over child rape allegations in the year to March 2013 was 32 per cent, which is slightly above the national average.

Mrs Mulligan said: “Reporting will only rise when there is confidence across the board, but the police must not shy away from their part of that challenge.

“Not only do we need to make sure as many victims as possible feel confident enough to report these horrid incidents, but that they get the right support and care once they have taken that courageous decision.”

The commissioner said the force was working with the health authorities to ensure sex attack victims get the support they needed.

She pointed towards the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, launched in York last May, which is designed to provide victims of rape and sexual assault with help, support and options rather than having to report directly to the police.

Mrs Mulligan said the force’s recently-established Major Crime Unit would also help in her drive to resolve more serious sexual offences.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason said the force was working to deal with sex attack allegations sensitively and had developed a network of specifically trained officers offering immediate and ongoing support and expertise to victims.

He said: “Their dedicated work includes strategies to prevent and reduce such offending and, statistically, North Yorkshire suffers lower levels of such offending compared to the national average.”

Detective Superintendent Heather Pearson, the force’s lead officer for protecting vulnerable people, said earlier reporting of any violent incidents could help prevent rape, as many reported to police that they knew their attacker.

She said: “It is important that at times of increased relationship tensions, that warning signs and behaviour that would be indicative of impending violence are not ignored and I would encourage early reporting to the police of threats and intimidating behaviour, stalking and harassment.”