Until very recently the general policy was that the police should believe rape victims - altho in practice that didn’t necessarily happen - that was the principle.
These guidelines evolved in response to the perception that police had not been sympathetic or objective enough to victims, had a tendency to disbelieve them outright, particularly wrt high profile cases such as Worboys which the police fucked up by not believing the victims, and Saville, Hall, Rolf Harris etc. where it transpired that people hadn’t reported for fear of not being believed and where they had, police hadn’t properly investigated.
Earlier this month, Cressida Dick signalled a move away from this stance, announcing “it isn’t all about victims” She said the police’s job is “to be fair and impartial”which is true and un-controversial. She is also reported to have said:
“And what might be a misunderstanding between two people, clumsy behaviour between somebody who fancies somebody else, is not a matter for the police”
Which, if true, is potentially more controversial. Either way it implies a shift in policy.
Joan Smith, co-chair of violence against women panel, made this response in the Telegraph:
Everyone knows that insurance fraud exists, but people reporting a stolen car have never faced the scepticism - and outright disbelief - which all too often confronted women who said they had been raped (and deterred others from going to the police at all).
Despite causing an outcry in some quarters, the Met's 'I believe you' policy - adopted in 2011 - simply placed rape complainants on the same footing as anyone else walking into a police station. It put right a long-standing injustice and had the support of senior officers.
The policy never implied that allegations wouldn't be investigated, and dismissed if officers found reasons to doubt the complainant's account. But it did mean that some women who wouldn't have had the confidence to report a rape in the past now felt able to go to the police. Its success can be judged by crime statistics, which show a 19 per cent increase in rape reports to the Metropolitan Police last year
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/police-have-duty-believe-rape-victims-have-learnt-nothing/