Officers from Cleveland Police helped victims of sexual crime ‘feel reassured’, according to new data from an online survey

Officers from Cleveland Police helped victims of sexual crime ‘feel reassured’, according to new data from an online survey.

Cleveland Police is joining other forces in the implementation of Operation Soteria – a national initiative to transform and improve the service received by victims of rape or sexual assault.

As part of this crucial work, we undertook an Operation Soteria Victim Survey between July 2023 and June 2024 to seek feedback from the public about their experience with the police.

With it being Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2025 this week, we want to share some of the feedback from the public, though these results can only tell us about the experiences of the people who chose to fill out the survey.

Out of 47 responses from those in the Cleveland Police area, we had a high proportion of people who said they were ‘always made to feel reassured’ and were ‘always made to feel comfortable’.

Results were also positive in Cleveland in relation to the likelihood of reporting again - with 67% of respondents saying they are likely to encourage a friend to report something to us compared to 59% nationally.

The main reasons victims said it was important to report incidents to police was to ‘stop the perpetrator doing it again’ followed by ‘feeling safer’.

Respondents also said it was important to get ‘validation that what happened was wrong’ as well as wanting to feel like they can ‘put it behind them’.

However, while there were positives from the survey, there were also some areas where victims felt like we could improve on, including more kindness or understanding from police officers.

With a high rate of victims wanting to withdraw from cases, we also looked at what could have helped them continue with the process.

A total of 70% of respondents said that having access to mental health support would have helped while 60% said access to a support worker would have made them continue with the case.

Detective Superintendent Helen Barker, who is the force lead for Op Soteria, said: “By conducting this survey, we’re able to look at some of the positive feedback while understanding where we could improve our service to victims and survivors so we can continue to protect people and be the best we can be.

“We know how difficult it is to report an extremely distressing incident to us and that’s why we want to hear from victims about how their contact with officers made them feel. We want every single person to feel listened to and supported throughout the whole process.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the survey for helping to shape and improve our processes and overall service to victims with their invaluable feedback. As always, I’d encourage anyone who has been a victim to report it to us. We have officers here ready to listen and help you.”

It’s never too late to report an incident to police, we have specially trained officers who will support you throughout. You can report at any time of day or night online via the Cleveland Police website or by phoning 101.

You can also report something to us online here: How to report rape, sexual assault or other sexual offences | Cleveland Police

Details of support agencies can be found on the Cleveland Police website here: Support after rape and sexual assault | Cleveland Police