Thousands of stalkers and harassers are escaping prosecution as police give them informal punishments such as rehabilitation courses or an order to apologise to their victim. Offenders accused of nearly 20,000 stalking and harassment crimes over the past three years avoided court in favour of community resolutions that will not show up on their criminal record. Those accused of 1,250 sex offences followed the same path even though the system is designed for less serious crimes, according to Home Office figures. SponsoredIt comes as rape convictions have hit record lows despite increased police resources to tackle sexual violence. Victims have been reluctant to co-operate over concerns about “digital strip searches”, in which police comb through their entire phone history.

Source: The Times June 03, 2021 22:52 UTC