Guernsey police have come in for criticism over their decision to keep quiet for a month about two sex attacks that may have been inflicted on young women by the same man.

How the force conducts its inquiries is clearly a matter for the officers responsible and there will be operational issues of which islanders have no knowledge that might influence whether to go public or not. No one would take issue with that.

In this case, however, it is difficult to see how a one-month delay in alerting women to a possible danger can be justified.

It may have been coincidence that the assaults were made public the day that this newspaper started asking questions and it may also have been coincidence that it was the same day that it was decided to launch a witness appeal.

But islanders, women in particular, will take some convincing of that.

From those we spoke to yesterday, it is clear that they – rightly – take their safety seriously and expect to be given the information necessary to make informed choices that might influence that safety.

Knowing that two sexual assaults have occurred in the quieter areas of St Peter Port in the early hours is a material development and one that most women would have expected to be drawn to their attention.

In that context, it is unfortunate that police also urged islanders to take responsibility for their own safety – warning them that a sex prowler was loose would have been helpful.

There are two other aspects to this. Islanders are sensible and are not panicked by disclosures of criminal activity, especially if that knowledge indicates that it might be sensible for them to modify their behaviour, certainly late at night.

In addition, they can be relied upon to provide the greatest possible assistance to police when appeals are made for witnesses or information. The more serious the crime, the better the cooperation.

Leaving it for a month to try to tap into that community spirit also seems odd and it is not surprising women feel rather let down by the police response to these attacks.