Rape: Convictions

(asked on 24th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) number and (b) proportion of rape trials ended in conviction in England and Wales in each of the last five years.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 13th April 2021

The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions and outcomes for rape offences, up to December 2019, in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/938568/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2019.xlsx

Using the data tool above, type ‘rape’ in the ‘Offence’ filter and select all options (19C-H, using ‘Select Multiple Items’ tickbox) in order to see prosecutions and convictions for these offences.

It is not possible to produce a true proportion of trials that result in a conviction from the link above as the tables present the number of convictions at all courts in the year and the number of prosecutions at magistrates’ courts in the same period. For offences where the case takes a long time (especially apparent for rape), that means the convictions in the latest year can relate to prosecutions from earlier time periods. CPS publish a defendant level conviction rate, where convictions and prosecutions relating to the same case are matched and recorded in the same year.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Prosecution-Crime-Types-Data-Tables-Year-Ending-September-2020.xlsx

The Government recognises that the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences being charged and prosecuted in England and Wales is a cause for significant concern. That is why we are carrying out an end-to end review of how the Criminal Justice System responds to rape. Through this review we are working with operational partners from across the Criminal Justice system including the police, CPS and victims’ groups to ensure we can improve the way rape cases are dealt with.

The Ministry of Justice has published information on pleas given at Crown Court for rape offences, up to December 2019, in the ‘Crown Court’ data tool, available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/888341/crown-court-tool-2019.xlsx

As above, type ‘rape’ in the ‘Offence’ filter and select all options (19C-H, using ‘Select Multiple Items’ tickbox). Use the ‘Plea at Crown Court’ filter to isolate figures for ‘Guilty’ or ‘Not Guilty’ pleas given.

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