Rape: Prosecutions and Convictions

Debate between Lord Keen of Elie and Baroness Gale

Monday 14th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to increase the number of prosecutions and convictions in rape cases.

[The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Keen of Elie) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, there is ongoing work to improve the handling of these sensitive cases and to narrow the disparity between offences reported and cases going to court. In July, the CPS published its rape strategy—the first of its kind for any department. There is also an ongoing cross-government review of the criminal justice response to rape, and this is examining evidence across the system about the causes of the falls in outcomes for rape and identifying solutions to reverse the trend.

[Baroness Gale (Lab) [V]]

I thank the Minister for his reply but, according to police records, there were 55,130 cases of rape but only 2,102 prosecutions and 1,439 convictions in England and Wales, until March this year. With the prosecution and conviction rates at an all-time low, can the Minister say how on earth this happened? Swift action is needed, so how long will it take to improve these figures? What measures will he take to ensure that confidence can be restored for those who seek justice?

Crown Prosecution Service: Rape Cases

Debate between Lord Keen of Elie and Baroness Gale

Thursday 5th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Crown Prosecution Service in prosecuting cases of rape.

[The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Keen of Elie) (Con)]

My Lords, the CPS is a partner in the ongoing cross-government review of the criminal justice response to rape. It has already accepted all recommendations in the recently published HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate’s Rape Inspection 2019 report, and, together with the police, is developing a joint action plan that will address issues raised in the report and, in due course, the findings of the cross-government review.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his reply. Is he aware that rape victims are finding it increasingly difficult to access justice, as the police refer fewer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service and fewer allegations of rape are being prosecuted and convicted, according to new figures? The number of cases referred by the police for charging decisions fell by 32% in the year to September last year, while prosecutions by the CPS fell by 26% and convictions dropped by 21%, which is the lowest level in more than a decade. Does the Minister agree with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill, who said:

“I share the deep public concern over the growing gap between the number of rapes being reported, and the number of criminals being convicted of this sickening offence … There is a clear need for end-to-end action to provide better support for victims of this devastating crime, and to bring more offenders to justice”?


The Minister mentioned the review. Can he say a little more about it, including when the findings will be announced and what action will be taken on it?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

My Lords, we are concerned by the reductions in the number of referrals for charge and in the number of prosecutions. That is why we are concerned to take forward the review, which we hope to complete this year. As regards the figures, I should perhaps point out that the volume of pre-charge receipts from the police fell from 3,375 in 2018 to 2,890 in the year ending September 2019. That is a decrease of just over 14%. There were 2.343 completed prosecutions in the year ending September 2019; again, I acknowledge that that was a fall from the previous year, when there were 3.034.