RAPES and child-sex offences have not been recorded accurately by Wiltshire Police, according to reports seen by the Journal.

The alarming details came to light following the force’s own investigations, which revealed Wiltshire Police had manipulated the recording of sexual offences, improving its perceived performance.

Around 50 reported rapes were not recorded in 2013, while around 30 serious sexual offences, including rape and child-sex crimes, were dealt with using “community resolutions”, which include an apology or compensation, instead of prosecution.

The final report of an inspection into crime data integrity, published this month, revealed that around one in eight crimes reported in the county was not recorded at all.

Police watchdog the Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said the force was reviewing its procedures but more needed to be done.

Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson said the under-recording of crime, particularly sexual crime, was “a matter of great concern” to him.

“If a crime is inaccurately recorded, the victim is let down and that is simply wrong,” he said, adding that his senior officers were “committed to the highest |standards of crime data integrity.”

“I also believe that Wiltshire deserves credit for embarking on an internal review into the recording of sexual offences which highlighted worrying mis-recording of offences as serious as rape.

“It is imperative that the people of Wiltshire and Swindon trust their local constabulary to record crimes honestly and investigate them appropriately.

“The current statistics suggest this is now happening, but we are monitoring it carefully.”

He encouraged victims of sexual offences to have the confidence to come forward.

Some middle-managers in the force also came under fire for retaining a “performance pressure culture based on pre-set levels of crime” which led to serious crimes like burglary being adjusted to less serious crime like criminal damage.

Mr Macpherson said he was working hard to “steer the force away from the national target-driven culture”.

“It is clear to me that chasing targets can – and does – lead to pressure for offences to be under-recorded,” he said.