4% police prosecution rate is worst in country

It’s hard for survivors to go through that process to potentially not get justice afterwards Jessica Ford, pictured

WEST Midlands Police has the worst prosecution rate in the country, worrying new Home Office figures have shown.

The likelihood of a crime in the region resulting in a suspect being prosecuted has plummeted in the last six years, with just four per cent of 313,193 cases closed in the year to September 2021 resulting in a suspect being taken to court.

That was down from seven per cent during the previous 12 months, and 16.8 per cent during the year to September 2015, when comparable figures began. The chances of someone facing prosecution differed significantly depending on the type of crime.

Offences for violence against the person had a prosecution rate of just three per cent, compared to 18.5 per cent of cases linked to possession of weapons. Women’s groups have repeatedly raised concerns about falling charge rates for rape and other sexual offences nationally.

The Post has previously reported on low prosecution rates for rape and other sex attack cases in the region. In the year to September, 134 (3.2 per cent) of 4,227 outcomes for rape offences recorded by West Midlands Police resulted in a charge or court summons - among the lowest rates of any police force.

That was down from 4.6 per cent a year earlier, and much lower than 20.8 per cent of closed rape cases that were charged in the year to September 2015.

Across England and Wales, 5.4 per cent of rape cases that were closed in the 12 months to September were charged - similar to five per cent the previous year but well below 18.4 per cent in 2015.

A new report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate found rape victims were “continually and systematically failed by the criminal justice system”. It urged police and prosecutors to significantly improve communication with victims, and called for special courts to deal solely with rape cases to tackle significant delays.

Jessica Ford, the current Miss Solihull International who was sexually assaulted by a stranger outside a nightclub when she was 18 and waived her right to anonymity to raise awareness of women’s violence, recently told the Post victims would stop coming forward if they did not believe they were going to get justice.

She said: “I never reported what happened to me, partly because of that reason. These figures are important because the figures don’t lie.

“As a survivor it is so hard to hear these things. Part of the reason we don’t want to speak out is because we are going to be probed and questioned. It’s hard for survivors to go through that process to potentially not get justice afterwards.”

The latest figures also come after it was reported last week that knife crime and other violent offences were up in the region, statistics which were labelled “very disappointing” by Dudley North MP Marco Longhi. While charge rates for all crimes have been falling in recent years, there has been a rise in the proportion of cases that close because an alleged victim does not support further police action.

Dame Vera Baird, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, pointed to delays in the criminal justice system and a lack of support for victims as reasons for the drop-out rate.

Some 85,911 cases (27.4 per cent) closed by West Midlands Police in the year to September ended this way. That was up from 23.2 per cent a year earlier, and about four times the 6.9 per cent of cases that closed in the year to September 2015 due to an alleged victim withdrawing their support.

Nearly half (45.9 per cent) of rape cases closed in the latest year were brought to an end for the same reason.

Max Hill QC, director of public prosecutions at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “We know victims of sexual offences can suffer lasting trauma, and too often their experience of the criminal justice system adds to their suffering. The CPS is committed to making the changes needed so that more victims see justice.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was working with the CPS to increase the number of rape and serious sexual offence cases being taken to court.