CHARITIES and voluntary organisations could increasingly help Thames Valley Police tackle crimes such as rape in the future, the force’s new chief constable has said.

Francis Habgood told the Oxford Mail women’s organisations could work with victims of sexual offences to encourage them to come forward and report crimes to the police.

Only 12.5 per cent of rapes reported to police in Oxford in 2014 led to a suspect being charged or cautioned.

Mr Habgood said: “One of the most important things is that people have the confidence to come forward as soon as possible.

“Quite a lot of the rapes which get reported are more than a year old.

“It gets much more difficult to be able to progress those because the opportunities for forensics are non-existent.

“It is about working with organisations such as women’s aid organisations to provide support to the victim or survivor of those cases so we can make sure they have the confidence to come forward.”

Mr Habgood said the force was already working with children’s charity Barnardo’s in Buckinghamshire to support young people who have run away from home.

Thames Valley Police refers cases to the charity when children who have been missing and then return home.

Banardo’s then speaks to the young people to find out why they went missing and how to prevent it happening again.

He said: “I think there is something about saying, ‘who is the best person to actually deliver those services?’ “So in terms of supporting victims of sexual assault it is probably not the police in some situations.

“Sometimes [charities and voluntary organisations] are better placed to do those services and probably in a more efficient way as well and you get a better result.

“I think those organisations sometimes have very niche skills.

“I think it is sometimes that they are not representing authority and therefore a person might be more prepared to tell them things than they would if it was a police officer.”

MP Nicola Blackwood said: “Extending joint working makes sense and gives Thames Valley Police the opportunity to make the most of charities’ expertise.”