DETECTIVE Sergeant Adam Waller from the Specialist Investigation Unit runs the incident room for investigating rape allegations and explains to the Warrington Guardian how suspects are traced.

“Thankfully stranger rapes are extremely rare in Cheshire – in my service of 10 years I can only think of a handful – the vast majority of victims who come to us can name the perpetrator.

“There are various processes involved in tracking stranger rapists and our top priority is to get the suspect behind bars.

“The best evidence will come from the scene and the victim, who may have traces of the offender’s DNA on their body – forensic scientists can now work with even a pinprick amount.

“A huge amount of intelligence and planning goes on, such as dealing with a crime scene, to arrest and interview strategies.

“We look at the known facts and use those to narrow down the pool of people we are looking for and research any suspicious incidents in the area.

“We speak to DSLOs (Divisional Sex Liaison Officers) who manage sex offenders in the community to see if they have any candidates who could have committed the offence and use a vital national organisation which compiles data from across the country to check if any patterns of methods are developing.

“Also, anyone arrested and on bail will have their DNA searched against outstanding crime.

“If we had a stranger rape where we were unable to retrieve forensic evidence we would consider mass DNA screening people with similar characteristics but it is very rare that we have to do that.

“We also rely heavily on the press but it’s difficult because we want to avoid a panic reaction but you have to alert people about it, especially if there are safety messages such as not leaving windows and doors open.

“But we do also get a number of spurious allegations. It’s a misconception that we take the victim’s side and do everything that would lead to a conviction.

“As investigators we look at every possible avenue of enquiry in an unbiased investigation of what has happened and sometimes it may lead to evidence that goes against something the alleged victim has said.

“To a victim who feels there is no point in reporting a rape, whether that is a stranger, familial or historical assault, I would say to them even if we find we cannot take that person to court we can offer him or her a wide variety of support to help them deal with what has happened.

“We are not just in the business of putting cuffs on people.”