POLICE have said there are no plans to create a specialist rape unit despite calls from the family of Gaia Pope.

The jury at the inquest of Miss pope, who went missing in Swanage in November 2017 and was found 11 days later, found failings on the part of Dorset Police, although those failings did not contribute to her death.

Miss Pope, 19, went missing after becoming fearful of the prison release of the man she alleged raped her.

Gaia Pope: What the jury concluded about her death

Following the inquest, her family called for Dorset Police to create a specialist rape unit after the hearing was told she felt she would never be believed.

Asked if police planned to introduce a new unit, deputy chief constable Sam de Reya said: “We have reached out to Gaia’s family to offer to meet with them following the inquest and await a response.

“All detectives in Dorset Police undergo specialist sexual offences training and there is a dedicated team that is focused on obtaining evidential accounts from victims and keeping them informed about the progress of investigations.

“In addition there is a dedicated team that investigate offences involving children and young people who have been sexually exploited.

“All our investigative teams are specialists in the investigation of sexual offences, and therefore there is currently no plans to create a further dedicated team although we continually keep our operating model under review.”

Ms de Reya said the force referred itself to the office for police conduct after Miss Pope’s death and has introduced dedicated missing person teams to “provide the right service for our communities”.

In November 2021, Dorset Police introduced two missing person teams, with a third coming soon.

The deputy chief constable said she hoped the total number of staff across the teams would be two inspectors, three sergeants, 15 constables and three desk-based investigators.

READ MORE: Gaia Pope inquest - Dorset Police asked to make host of changes

Asked whether the public can still have confidence in Dorset Police following the inquest, Ms de Reya said: “Dorset Police is committed to keeping people safe in our communities and providing the best possible service to the public, particularly those who are vulnerable.

“The missing persons policies and processes that were in place in 2017 and the actions of individual officers and staff have been under the spotlight over the last four years both during the inquest and as part of the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation.

“In the proceeding four years the force has worked diligently to address the areas where we fell short and improve the way we answer calls for service, identify and respond to vulnerability, risk assess missing people, command high-risk enquiries and provide support for the family.

“We have also introduced dedicated missing people teams to ensure our response meets national best practice and delivers a quality service for individuals and communities.

“We welcome the prevention of future deaths report from the coroner. It will help us to ensure we have understood and responded to every single piece of learning in this case.

“We have made a commitment that we will act swiftly on any learning that has not already been part of our improvement programme.”