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To combat serious sexual crime, we must first understand it. There has been an increase in serious sexual offences reported to police across the country. In our county, comparing the period from April 2014 to March 2015 with the same period in 2013-14, there has been an increase of 32 per cent in the number of serious sexual offences reported to Essex Police. This is an increase of 467 individual offences, with the total number rising in Essex from 1,446 offences to 1,913 crimes. The 32 per cent increase in serious sexual offences in our county is in line with a national increase of 32 per cent of all sexual offences comparing calendar year 2014 with 2013, reported by the Office of National Statistics here. Whatever is happening in Essex seems to be reflected across England and Wales. At my request, Essex Police has produced a detailed breakdown of serious sexual offences which can be seen in the series of Tables here: SERIOUS SEXUAL CRIME OFFENCES BREAKDOWN 2014 15 vs 2013 14 TABLES 1-2 SERIOUS SEXUAL CRIME OFFENCES BREAKDOWN 2014 15 vs 2013 14 TABLE 3-4 SERIOUS SEXUAL CRIME OFFENCES BREAKDOWN 2014 15 vs 2013 14 TABLES 5 5A  I’ve published this information as I believe it will help inform the debate, explain some of the underlying trends, and most crucially of all help bring offenders to justice and protect victims from harm. If together we are to address the problem, we need to understand precisely what is going on. Firstly, I note that the number of serious sexual offences reported to Essex Police has nearly doubled, rising by 81 per cent in the past two years. In 2012-13, 1,059 serious sexual offences, including 451 rapes, were reported to the force; by 2014-15, there were 1,913 such offences reported, of which 879 were rapes. (Table 5) Secondly, there has been an increase in the reporting of what are termed “historic” sexual offences – sometimes now referred to as non-recent. The use of the phrase “historic” does not mean that the crime is any less severe. However, there may be practical obstacles to investigation, such as the lack of forensic opportunities and difficulty in tracking down witnesses. In this context, the term historic is used to describe cases where the crime occurred more than a year before it was reported to police. In 2012-13, 246 serious sexual offences were reported to Essex Police which were categorised as historic. By 2014-15, this number had risen to 481 crimes. (Table 5A) The increased reporting of serious sexual offences during the same time period means that the proportion of reported serious sexual offences which were historic in nature was essentially stable, rising just a little from 23 per cent to 25 per cent. This means that around a quarter of sexual offences are reported to police more than a year after the crime occurred. So, can any of this be explained by the so-called ‘Savile effect’? From 2012 onwards, statements by police forces, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the government have made it clear that Jimmy Savile was a prolific sexual predator, with many of his crimes being against children. It is believed that the publicity given to Savile’s crimes and those of other high profile sexual predators, and their investigation by the police and other authorities, has led to an increased confidence amongst members of the public in reporting sexual offences. This is what is meant by the ‘Savile effect’. We cannot be certain, but my judgement is that the large increase in the number of serious sexual offences reported to police in the past two years, and the fact that a quarter of these reports are of “historic” offences, suggest that a ‘Savile effect” may well be a factor. I welcome this as in reporting these crimes for investigation by the police, victims may begin to find some relief from the torment and violence they have suffered. The analysis of serious sexual offences in Essex also reveals that in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, there were more child victims than adult victims. (Table 1) On the face of it, this is a surprising and disturbing finding, and I’ve spoken further with specialist detectives. They have told me that national estimates suggest that up to 85 per cent of all sexual abuse has not been reported to police. In addition, detectives suspect that many adult victims of sexual abuse make a decision not to report the crime. With children, the situation is different in that many serious sexual offences are disclosed to parents or various third party agencies. In such circumstances, parents generally make decisions on the child's behalf in terms of reporting to police and, where appropriate, supporting prosecutions. All professional agencies have a legal and moral responsibility to share disclosures and concerns around crimes against a child with police. So, I am advised that the professional police view is that if all serious sexual crime was reported, it is probable that a larger proportion would relate to adult victims than the current reports suggest. This analysis is important and must inform future investigative and safeguarding work. But the stark reality is that in 2014-15, there were 985 serious sexual offences against children reported to Essex Police, of which 361 were rapes. Under UK law, a child is defined as a person under the age of 18 so the recorded offences capture a wide range of age groups. However, this means that almost every single day, the rape of a child is being reported to Essex Police.