Police and prosecutors are driving up the number of rape cases reaching courts in England and Wales in a reversal of previous trends, after a government review promised sweeping reform of how the crime is treated.
Referrals, charges and prosecutions of rape increased in the year ending March 2022, up from a series of record lows in 2019, 2020 and 2021, according to figures from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The figures come a year after the publication of the government’s end-to-end rape review, in which ministers apologised unreservedly and said they were “deeply ashamed” that rape survivors were being failed by the criminal justice system.
In the year to March 2022, police referred more cases to prosecutors, with 4,049 cases passed to the CPS, up 14.4% from 3,539 in 2020-21. In turn, more suspects were charged, with 2,223 suspects charged in 2021-22, up 13.7% from 1,955 in 2020-21.
Over the year prosecutions rose by 62.9%, equating to an additional 980 cases, from 1,557 in 2020-21 to 2,537 in 2021-22. Prosecutions were at an all-time low in 2020-21, with the number of cases falling even further because of court closures during the pandemic.
After the review, targets were put in place for police and prosecutors to help stem the precipitous decline in prosecutions. The government aims to return the number of rape cases being referred by police, charged and going to court back to 2016 levels by the end of the parliament.
In 2016-17, 5,190 rape prosecutions were completed by the CPS. The end of parliament, if it runs a full term, will be in December 2024. The CPS would have to maintain a similar increase in the volume of prosecutions, with an additional 965 prosecutions each year, in order to meet government targets.
However, the number of rapes recorded by police has increased by 67% since the target year. In the year to March, 70,330 rapes were recorded by police, a record high and two-thirds more than the 42,059 reported in 2016-17.
Dame Vera Baird QC, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, said: “With the volumes of reported rapes increasing to record highs year on year, you have to wonder whether the original ambitions of the rape review are even appropriate today, especially given that the proportions of reported incidents now dwarf those of 2016-17 by over 28,000 – an increase of 67%.
“Should the government reach its target by the end of the parliament – and it remains to be seen if it can – is that a ‘good’ result for victims, when we face proportionally far higher volumes of reported rapes?”
While more cases were referred to prosecutors, it took longer for the CPS to decide to charge a suspect. On average, victims waited just over five and a half months, or 171 days, for the CPS to decide to press charges in the quarter to March 2022. That represents an increase of 18 days from 153 in the previous quarter.
A research programme, Operation Soteria Bluestone, was also launched after a pilot scheme in Avon & Somerset. In response to the government review, the study was expanded to include four more police force areas and will explore how to improve collaboration between police and prosecutors in rape and serious sexual assault cases, with an emphasis on suspect-focused investigations to help increase prosecutions.
Max Hill, the director of public prosecutions of England and Wales, and Sarah Crew, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for rape and adult sexual offences, said: “Close joint working from the very start of an investigation means we can build the best possible cases more quickly. With police going to the CPS earlier in the process and more often, the rise in charging decisions will lead to more trials and more convictions.
“Early advice in these cases has been key in helping us use our joint resources more effectively and narrow the gap between the number of offences reported to the police and cases going to court.”
