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This page last updated Jan
7 2005
2000-0630 - Nelson
Mail - Compassion urged after false complaint
Ms Jordan said unresolved issues of past abuse or trauma were a reason a
woman might lay a false complaint with police. "Any trauma that is
unresolved can be recreated by the victim until she gets the intervention
that is required, until the issues are dealt with,'' she said. But the
stereotype of a scorned woman making a false complaint to seek revenge was
unusual and would be uncovered in a thorough police investigation, she said.
She said it was "virtually impossible'' to know how many false
complaints of rape were made to police each year, because no records were
kept.
Surveys on the issue had suggested 50-80 percent of all rape complaints were
false, but this also depended on how complaints were categorised and the
opinion of individual police officers.
Last year police recorded 423 false complaints. Sixteen of those were in
Nelson and 15 were resolved by police.
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