Last week, news revealed content from a Kripos report that had not previously been made public. The report from 2021 deals with all rape cases from 2019 that were reported within 48 hours. It summarizes how the police worked to collect biological traces as evidence in these cases; and that in many cases they did not. This leads to far fewer rape cases being prosecuted. In more than one in four rape cases, it was not documented that a search had been made for biological traces at the crime scene, for example blood, skin, hair and semen, which could have provided a DNA profile. This despite the fact that the police knew where the crime had taken place. – The least one can expect Member of the Storting’s justice committee and lawyer Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik (V) has read the Kripos report in its entirety. She calls what emerges in this a betrayal of people who have been exposed to serious crime. – This is a betrayal of rape victims. I am very critical, to say the least, of the fact that the police in so many cases do not carry out trace searches. – When the case has a known crime scene and is reported so soon after the assault, it is almost low-hanging fruit for the police to collect this evidence, believes Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik (V). Photo: Per Kåre Sandbakk / news Thorsvik indicates that there have been political signals that this type of case should be prioritized. – The least you can expect when you go to the step of reporting something as serious as rape is that the police take their task seriously. That they do what they can to obtain evidence that is relevant to the case, she says. Parliamentary politician and member of the justice committee Kamzy Gunaratnam (Ap) also reacts strongly when she is presented with parts of the content of the report. – I have no need to be a system defender here. This was very provocative to hear. Great importance of who conducts the search for traces news can also reveal that who conducts the search for biological traces is of great importance for whether or not charges are brought in rape cases. This is revealed in the Kripos report. More than twice as many indictments were issued when forensic technicians carried out the trace search, compared to when this was done by other professional groups in the police. In the cases where forensic technicians carried out the trace searches, charges were brought in 34 per cent of the cases. In the cases where a patrol carried out the trace searches, charges were brought in 16 per cent of the cases. Nevertheless, forensic technicians were only used in one out of five cases where a trace search was carried out. In the report, Kripos points out that there are many reasons why forensic experts should be called in in rape cases. One of these is that patrols may be given other assignments, and have to interrupt the track search to work on something else. Another reason is different competence in the police. Not everyone knows how to find what Kripos calls invisible traces. Press the red button Now the politicians will follow up the police’s work in rape cases. – What is missing? Don’t they have enough forensics? Are the forensic technicians used incorrectly? These are questions I would like to ask POD and Kripos, says Gunaratnam. The figures that emerge in the report are disturbing, says Kamzy Gunaratnam. Photo: Martin Holvik / news The Ap politician believes it is time to roll up his sleeves and press the red button. – We must hold those concerned accountable, and they must bear the fact that we see even more in their cards. Then they can’t just say they want to manage the money themselves, and then these things won’t be prioritized, she says. Did not collect traces from the abuse center news has previously told the story of Helene who was raped by a colleague. In her case, biological traces were decisive for the conviction of the man who raped her. news has also been in contact with a woman who reported a rape in 2018. She knows what consequences it can have when the police do not gather the necessary evidence. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, went to an abuse reception where the staff examined her, took samples and secured traces. This material was to be collected by the police, so that it could be presented as evidence in the case. Her assistance lawyer reminded the police several times to retrieve the trace material from the abuse center. This was nevertheless not done until it was too late, and the samples had been destroyed. After this, the woman’s case was dropped. Her story has previously been featured in Fædrelandsvennen. In the Kripos report, however, it appears that this is not the only case where this has happened. In at least two per cent of the rape cases in the sample from 2019, the police did not retrieve the forensic record from the rape center, or they retrieved it, but did not include it in the case. The abuse reception centers around the country can search for and secure traces of people who have been subjected to sexual abuse. The police must collect trace material from the reception if the case is reported. Photo: Frida Synnøve Høyås / news – Absolutely terrible The woman herself describes the police’s work in her case as tragic. – Going to the abuse center was absolutely terrible. Such a situation where you know you have to, but everything in you resists. You feel both relieved and proud afterwards that you carried out. So then it’s just absolutely damning to be told that the police have not retrieved the evidence in time, she says. The woman tells news that she has spent much of the last few years being angry and disappointed. At the same time, she believes that the errors that occurred in her case are part of a larger failure in the system. – In my communication with the police, they apologized for not having enough resources. I have no reason not to trust that information. I really believe that the people who work at the police station do the best they can with what they have. Then it will be up to those higher up in the system to allocate more resources. Reported to the police After the arrest, the woman reported to the police because they had not retrieved the traces from the abuse center. The fact that the trace material was not collected in time was described as a serious service error by the Bureau of Police Affairs when they investigated the case. They nevertheless concluded that neither officials nor the police district should be punished, and dropped the case. Head of the joint unit for intelligence, prevention and investigation in the Agder police district, Gordon Petterson, says that this is a case they have deeply regretted. – The police immediately started work to change the routines after this case became known, precisely so that it will not happen again. The changed routines mean that the police now receive an automatic reminder when it is registered that samples are to be collected. Critical to the fact that findings have not been made public After reading parts of the Kripos report, MP Gunaratnam believes that there is a lot to follow up on. – I am left wondering what the police are missing in order to do their job. And what more politicians must say and do in our award letters for this to be higher on the agenda. She is highly critical of the fact that the content of the Kripos report has been withheld from the public. – I don’t understand any of that. We must create a culture where we speak loudly about areas where there is potential for improvement. If we don’t do that, we politicians don’t know if we are allocating the money correctly, says Gunaratnam. Ingvild Wetrhus Thorsvik also believes that the report should have been made known. The politicians agree that what emerges is relevant to their work in the justice committee. – This is definitely in the public interest. And not least political interest in the form of which choices we make politically, which signals we send politically, and which budget choices we make, says Thorsvik. It took over six months of access requests and complaints before Kripos gave news access to almost the entire report. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news – Perhaps a public version should have been made Emil Kofoed is the head of the section for sexual offenses in Kripos. He emphasizes that it is important for Kripos to raise concerns in the field, but that it can be challenging to assess what should be done publicly and what should not. The relevant Kripos report was written with the police and the leaders in the police as the target group. After reading the criticism from the politicians, he believes that a new assessment could have been made after the report was finished. – In retrospect, when you see that it creates a lot of interest and focus, I have no problem seeing that we should perhaps have made a public version. Kofoed says he understands that the politicians are reacting, and that the information in the report may be relevant to several people. – If they feel that they have not received the information they need, then it is obvious that we can improve. We will take this example with us further. Requires action After reading the report, Thorsvik believes that there should be stricter requirements for biological traces to be secured, and how they should be secured. – This is a very clear signal that it is among the measures that must be taken, she says of the findings. As a clear general rule, it should be the crime technicians who do the trace search, Thorsvik believes. It is far from the reality today. – And of course it is a question of resources. If we are to manage to do something about this, it is a matter of providing resources and prioritizing with the police. No longer a requirement for investigation time Which types of crimes are to be given the highest priority in the country’s police districts is decided by the Attorney General. This is described in an annual letter. In 2018, a requirement was introduced in this article that rape cases should have an average processing time of 130 days. By then, the processing time had increased for several years. The police spent an average of 217 days on a rape case. In the following years, while the Attorney General made this demand, the processing time decreased drastically. In four years, the average processing time for rape cases fell from around seven months to around four and a half months. From 2022, this requirement has been removed. In the same year that the deadline requirement was removed, the average time for the police to process rape cases rose again for the first time in many years. The average treatment time went from 139 days to 149 days. – No de-prioritisation – The Attorney General wishes to emphasize that even if the deadline requirement for processing time in rape cases was not continued in 2022, this is not an expression of any form of de-prioritisation. This is what acting state attorney Ole Kristian Bjørge writes in an email to news. Furthermore, Bjørge writes that although the Attorney General has removed this requirement, the Norwegian Police Directorate has continued the deadline of 130 days in its agreements with the police districts. He believes the trend is going in the right direction when it comes to processing time. – As news mentions, you will still see an increase in case processing time from 2021 to 2022. This is a development that the Attorney General will monitor. Whether the Attorney General will initiate measures if the processing time continues to increase is not possible to answer now, writes Bjørge. Tell us! Do you have any thoughts to share after reading this case? Or do you have tips for other things we should look at? Over the past year, news has examined the social problem of rape to shed light on the consequences it has for us as individuals and society. This case is part of this project. We will publish more cases on this topic in the future.
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– A betrayal of rape accused – news Dokumentar
