Sex assault victims to be allowed to keep mobile phones during police investigations in new trial

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse in Greater Manchester will benefit from a new technology being trialled which will see them allowed to keep their mobile phones during police investigations.

GMP have purchased a number of 'Odyssey' devices, which will allow specially trained police officers, supported by forensic experts, to extract evidence from devices within a set time period.

The trial comes at a time when rape convictions in England are woefully low. Staggering statistics published by the Government's End-to-End Rape Review in 2021 revealed that just 1.6pc of rape cases reported to the police resulted in someone being charged. READ MORE:Mum goes on drunken 50-mile jaunt along motorway with 15-month-old son in back And an investigation published last year found that two thirds of rape victims are dropping out of prosecutions amid claims that police had been searching their phones in order to "discredit" them.

Many victims reported that requests for mobile phones were intrusive, unnecessary and they felt their behaviour and credibility were being scrutinised, according to research by London's victim's commissioner, Claire Waxman.