Offences against Children: Prosecutions

Asked by: Lucy Allan (Independent - Telford)

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, how many successful prosecutions there have been for child sexual abuse-related offences in (a) Telford constituency and (b) England in each year since 2010.

Answered by Robert Buckland

The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) provide information on the number of defendants whose prosecution was completed, where the case has been flagged as child abuse, and where the principal offence at finalisation is categorised as a sexual offence.

The CPS definition of child abuse covers any case where the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the offence and allegations or crimes perpetrated by both adults and under 18s.

The CPS is a national service delivered at a local level by 14 Regional Areas. While prosecution outcomes are not collated for individual constituencies, records are held showing outcomes by individual Police Force Areas. West Mercia Police Force Area is responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire.

Since April 2010 the number of defendants prosecuted, by outcome, in the West Mercia Police Force Area and England, for cases flagged as child abuse and whose principal offence was identified as a sexual offence, is as follows:

It is not possible to disaggregate figures to show separately the volume and outcome of proceedings for individual offences within the Sexual Offences Category. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.