Recorded sexual offences in Bedfordshire have more than quadrupled since 2010
The number of sexual offences recorded by Bedfordshire Police has more than quadrupled since 2010, new figures show.
It comes as a report has found failures in the Home Office’s past leadership in tackling violence against women and girls.
Home Office figures show there were 1,995 sexual offences recorded by Bedfordshire Police in the year to September – up from 1,703 the year before.
It has more than quadrupled since 2009-10, when 460 sexual offences were recorded.
Detective Chief Superintendent Zara Brown said: “There is absolutely no place for sexual offences in our society and that’s why we’re working hard to tackle such offences and target perpetrators.
“Over the years we have worked to build trust and confidence with our communities, to ensure that anyone has been a victim, is able to come forward and report in a safe space."
The gender of the victims is not available, although the Office for National Statistics has previously found over 80 per cent were female.
In a recent report, the National Audit Office (NAO) found 4.3 per cent of women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales experienced sexual assault in the year to March, up from 3.4 per cent in 2009-10.
Across the same period, incidents of rape and sexual assault against women and girls recorded by police rose from 34,000 to 123,000, although the NAO said this could partly be explained by improved recording of such crimes.
The NAO added government efforts in recent years have not improved outcomes for victims and said the Home Office "is not currently leading an effective cross-Government response".
Under the Conservatives, the Home Office had "historically underspent" its own budget allocated to the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy by an average of 15 per cent, the watchdog said.
It added violence against women and girls is a "significant and growing problem" affecting one in 12 women, while Labour pledged to halve such violence in the next decade.
The NAO said to meet this target, the Home Office "will need to lead a co-ordinated, whole-system response".
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp defended the Conservatives’ record, telling Sky News: "It’s something which the last government did take incredibly seriously.
"Under successive home secretaries, there was a whole initiative established called Operation Soteria with the police, and actually working with academics to figure out the best way of identifying perpetrators of particularly rape and serious sexual assault and bring them to justice to increase the conviction rate."
He said there was a "cross-government taskforce" which looked at the justice system's response to rape, serious sexual assault and violence against women and girls, and there were "a succession of safeguarding ministers who were really committed to this".
Detective Chief Superintendent Zara Brown added: “We have dedicated teams within force to support victims, and we work closely with partners and people such as Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA’s) to ensure people get the best possible support.
“I’d like to encourage anyone who has experienced a sexual offence, no matter how long ago, to get in touch with us so that we can offer you support or signpost you to other support that you might need, and to do everything we can to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to justice and prevented from causing any further harm.”