Fewer than one in 60 rape cases recorded by the police last year resulted in a suspect being charged, analysis of Home Office figures seen by the Guardian reveals. The figures will increase pressure on the government to deliver radical proposals to overhaul the treatment of rape by the criminal justice system in a long-awaited end-to-end review into how rape is investigated and prosecuted in England and Wales. The England and Wales review is expected to recommend allowing rape victims to provide pre-recorded evidence before trial, barring the public from the courtroom more often and ensuring police return mobile phones to victims within 24 hours. “Ministers must publish the end-to-end review of rape cases without any more delay. Siobhan Blake, CPS lead for Rasso prosecutions, said “At the CPS, we are determined to reverse the drop in rape and sexual offence cases going to court.

Source: The Guardian May 23, 2021 17:00 UTC