Raab creates specialist rape courts to boost convictions

SPECIALIST rape courts are to be set up in Britain for the first time, as Dominic Raab vowed to increase convictions.

Court staff, police and prosecutors working on serious sex offence cases will receive specialist trauma training at three pilot courts, while victims will get independent advisers to support them through the process and speak for them.

The scheme will be rolled out in Leeds, in Newcastle and at Snaresbrook in London. Each will have a dedicated courtroom for dealing with rape cases.

Just 1.3 per cent of the 67,125 rape offences recorded by police in 2021 were prosecuted, as more than half of victims withdrew from cases.

This is because of intrusive investigations by police, delays that can last two or three years and the trauma of reliving an attack in court.

Courtrooms will also be equipped with video technology allowing for the pre-recorded cross-examination of victims of rape.

This spares victims, subject to a successful application to the court, the stress of giving evidence at a live trial and is already in use at 37 courts.

Mr Raab, the Justice Secretary and deputy prime minister, said: “Rape wrecks lives, leaving lasting physical and mental scars. As you try to put your life back together, you summon the courage to come forward to the police, only to find that your account is not believed.”

He said that when this is added to the “backlog of Crown Court cases caused by the pandemic, and the ordeal of giving testimony under the glare of an open courtroom”, it is little wonder that victims drop their case before a trial.

The courts were chosen as they are currently dealing with a higher-thanaverage number of sex offence cases, the Government said. Mr Raab said the courts’ impact would be assessed to see how the model could be expanded.

He said the Government would also expand Operation Soteria – where the focus of investigations are on the behaviour of suspects rather than the personal lives of victims – from five forces to a further 14 constabularies.

Mr Raab added that adjusted disclosure rules would guarantee victims the return of their mobiles in 24 hours.