Responding to the announcement of new measures from the
Crown Prosecution Service to tackle the low level of prosecutions
for rape and serious sexual offences, Shadow Attorney
General , said:
“These measures are welcome, however it is extremely
concerning that rape convictions have now fallen to the lowest
level on record in England and Wales, with no adequate
explanation to why the figures have dropped so sharply.
“More needs to be done to ensure that victims have the
confidence to come forward to report these crimes, and have faith
that the criminal justice system will be there to support them
throughout.
“The CPS needs to urgently identify the causes of why
prosecution levels are so low, learn these lessons quickly and
act swiftly to reverse this worrying deterioration of prosecution
levels to ensure that victims of rape and sexual violence are not
denied their right to justice.”
Ends
Notes to editors
· The full announcement from the CPS setting
out the new measures can be read here:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/news/cps-announces-five-year-blueprint-prosecution-rape-and-serious-sexual-offences-rasso
· Figures announced today by the CPS, in
2019-20, the police referred 2,747 cases to the CPS, a reduction
of 40% in three years and the lowest number since the figures
were first published in 2014-15.
· 1,439 cases were convicted in 2019-20, which
is half the figure compared to three years ago.
· It is also taking longer for suspects to be
charged, with the average time from a case initially being
referred to the CPS to a decision to charge up from 53 days in
2015-16 to 145 days in 2019-20, which is almost five
months.
· The HMICFRS ‘Evidence led domestic abuse
prosecutions’ report
published in January 2020 stated “the domestic abuse caseload
for both the CPS and the police has increased by 88% against the
backdrop of a 25% reduction in police and CPS funding. This means
both investigators and prosecutors are stretched, which results
in difficult decisions about priorities.”
· The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has
suffered cuts of around 35% since 2010. In 2018/19, there were
5,684 full-time equivalent CPS staff in post compared with 8,094
in 2010/11.
