‘Scandal’ as just 3pc of rape inquiries end in prosecution

RAPE INVESTIGATIONS are resulting in so few prosecutions victims are asking “what is the point in coming forward?”, Dame Vera Baird fears.

The Victims Commissioner for England and Wales is, in her own words, “making waves about the scandal that fewer than three per cent of rape cases reported to the police were prosecuted last year”.

In the eyes of the law, rape is seen as the second most serious crime after murder yet has been “effectively decriminalised”, according to Dame Vera, inset.

In an interview with The Yorkshire Post, the QC – who has had an illustrious career campaigning for justice for female victims of crime – laid bare her frustration with the Crown Prosecution Service.

She said: “Some 58,000 rapes were reported to the police nationally in 2018.

“Last year 1,758 people were prosecuted. So if you work those two together, it comes to roughly three per cent that saw a prosecution.

“And the conviction rate was lower again, of course.

“As a victim, you can see the woeful figures and you have to say to yourself, ‘Why would I go through this and bother – what is the point?’”

Last year more than 17,300 sexual offences were reported to police in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Of the 294 rape cases considered by the Crown Prosecution Service, some 168 were charged – a rate of 57 per cent.

Most notably, South Yorkshire Police saw the lowest percentage of CPS referrals resulting in a charge in England and Wales, with just 40 per cent of rape cases it referred for prosecution ultimately resulting in a charge. Superintendent Shelley Hemsley, from the force’s Protecting Vulnerable People Governance team, said: “Any violence suffered by women and girls is unacceptable and can have a devastating and life-changing impact upon the victim.

“The force works hard to make sure victims feel confident in reporting abuse of any kind to us and they are supported and taken seriously throughout every stage of the investigation.”

Dame Vera was scathing in her criticism of the CPS after a whistleblower admitted in a document in June that lawyers were told to forget the weaker cases to improve their conviction rates.

The CPS has consistently denied dropping weaker cases for the sake of sharpening its conviction rates.