London, Aug. 19 (ANI): The number of rapes being reported to the Scotland Yard has fallen significantly amid claims of falling confidence among victims towards the Met's specialist sex crimes operation, Sapphire.

Since April, reports to Sapphire, investigates serious sexual violence when it was set up in 2001, have dropped by 14 percent compared with the same period last year.

Lawyers and campaigners believe the unexpected fall underlines the extent to which victims are losing faith in the Met's pledge to take rape seriously.

According to the Guardian, it follows a series of allegations that senior Sapphire officers shelved cases prematurely.

Detective chief superintendent Mick Duthie, the head of SCD2, Sapphire command, said that it was a cause of concern that victims might not be coming forward, the report said.

It is worrying that victims may have lost confidence in police and other agencies. It is important that victims report to us, he said.

Last month Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, said nine in 10 cases of serious sexual assault were not reported to the police and, despite Sapphire having 478 officers and 18 teams across London, the proportion of allegations reported to police that result in a conviction is around 15 percent, the report added.

According to the report, one former Sapphire officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a 'prevailing canteen culture' in which some officers labelled women, who have been attacked more than once as 'frequent flyers'.

The watchdog's findings have been forwarded to the Met commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, and will be published this autumn, the report added. (ANI)