‘Go-ahead for rapists’ as charges and convictions fall to record low
THE head of the Crown Prosecution Service has announced a review of the handling of rape cases amid outrage over record low levels of prosecutions and convictions.
Campaigners say rape is being decriminalised after there were just 1,925 convictions last year – while 57,882 offences were reported to police.
The Centre for Women’s Justice will launch a judicial review against prosecutors amid fears they are only taking cases they feel likely to win.
Experts also fear the horrifying figures signal to rapists that they are safe to continue attacking people.
Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill insisted yesterday there had not been a change in approach.
He said: “Rape is an awful, sickening offence and I understand why the fall in charging rates is so concerning.
Traumatised
“Partners across the criminal justice system are coming together to look at how these cases are handled and the CPS is playing its part by opening up our charging decisions to scrutiny.
“I intend to implement any changes which are recommended if they improve our processes and enable the criminal justice system to deliver swifter, more effective justice.”
In 2016/17 there were 2,991 rape convictions. This fell to 2,635 in 2017/18 and plummeted again to 1,925 in 2018/19. The charge rate for rape dropped from 64.3 per cent in 2014-15 to 48.2 per cent this year.
The number of suspects charged has also fallen every year from 3,910 in 2015/16 to 3,671 in 2016/17, 2,822 in 2017/18, and 1,758 in 2018/19. In the same period, rapes reported to police have soared from 35,847 in 2015/16 to 57,882 – a rise of 61 per cent.
A CPS report said rape suspects referred by police for a charging decision fell from 4,370 in 2017-18 to 3,375 in 2018-19 – a 22.8 per cent reduction.
Harriet Wistrich, of the Centre for Women’s Justice, is launching a judicial review challenge against the CPS, alleging the service changed the way it handled cases as far back as 2016.
She said: “The test should be a realistic prospect of conviction – not secondguessing what the jury will decide.
“The primary cause of this collapse in prosecutions emanates from a deliberate change in the approach taken by the CPS dating back to late 2016.”
Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird said: “The figures get worse to the point where tens of thousands of women and many male victims are being denied the chance of justice.
“Is this ineptitude or, as seems clear but is denied by the CPS, a deliberate policy to improve their conviction rate by abandoning thousands of cases of potentially traumatised men and women who look to the CPS for support?
“Women’s groups have rightly warned rape is being decriminalised and thousands of victims present and future will pay the price.”