Bedfordshire Police has moved to reassure women it takes all cases of rape extremely seriously.

The force response followed a critical report published on Monday by the Fawcett Society which highlighted how the county only secured court convictions in 3.2 per cent of offences reported in 2006.

Det Chief Supt Andrew Richer, head of protective services, which incorporates the investigation of serious crime, said Bedfordshire Police thoroughly investigates every instance.

"The figures quoted in the Fawcett Report actually date back to between 2004 and 2006 and do not replicate standard reporting data sets used by police forces. Our current figures show a very different picture.

"The effective investigation of rape has been thoroughly reviewed in recent times and we monitor very carefully our performance on a monthly basis as part of the Rape Investigation Steering Group which oversees the adoption of national best practice in this complex area of work."

The force also produced figures of its own.

It says the overall number of recorded rapes fell in Bedfordshire from 146 in 2006/7 (75 of which were in Luton) to 112 in 2007/8 (55 in Luton).

Over the same period, Bedfordshire Police increased its detection levels for rape offences from 15 to 19 per cent, it says.

In both years over 90 per cent of detected offences resulted in a charge being brought against the suspect, the force said.

Meanwhile, Bedfordshire's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 38 defendants for rape in 2006/7 with a success rate of 45 per cent and, in 2007/8, 22 defendants with a success rate of 64 per cent.

The CPS defines a successful prosecution as either a conviction after full trial or a guilty plea by the defendant.

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'Postcode lottery' on rape convictions

The number of unsuccessful prosecutions fell from 21 in 2006/07 to eight in 2007/08.

Richard Newcombe, Chief Crown Prosecutor said: "We are working closely with the police and the courts to improve victim care within the criminal justice system as a whole, increase the number of convictions and further reduce the number of unsuccessful prosecutions. We are continuing to find ways of improving our performance."