The number of rape charges has decreased, despite an increase in the amount of rapes reported, data released today shows.
The multi-agency Rape Monitoring Group (RMG) has published data showing how cases of rape were dealt with at all stages of the criminal justice system in 2017/18. The data covers every police force in England and Wales.
- Charge rate drops from 6.8% to 4.2%
- Reported rapes has increased compared to the previous year, from 41,186 to 54,045
In the 12 months to 31 March 2018 North Yorkshire Police recorded:
- 344 rapes of a female aged 16 and over
- 62 rapes of a female aged under 13
- 79 rapes of a female aged 14–16
- 28 rapes of a male aged 16 and over
- 30 rapes of a male aged under 13
- 18 rapes of a male aged 14–16
In that period for North Yorkshire:
- A total of 561 reported rapes
- 52 rape suspects were proceeded against (9.2% of reported cases against National average of 4.2%)
- 14 offenders were found guilty (2.5% of reported cases)
In this same period, North Yorkshire Police received 244 rape reports that were not recorded as a crime. It transferred 7 rape offences to other police forces and cancelled 20 rape offences.
Over this same period, North Yorkshire Police referred 67 cases of rape to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. Of those, the CPS charged 41 cases.
During the same year, the CPS successfully convicted 31 cases and brought 18 unsuccessful prosecutions.
North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan said:
These figures highlight a domino effect that topples through the criminal justice system beginning with the police and ending up with rapists getting away with their crimes.
While North Yorkshire’s charge rate is well above the national average, it remains low and I have serious concerns about performance which I raised at our last Local Criminal Justice Partnership meeting, where I asked all partners to review their work.
Across the board, here and across the country, we are not doing well enough and there is much more to be done to help give victims of rape the confidence they need to come forward and for perpetrators to be brought to justice.
It is essential for victims to know they will be treated sensitively and taken seriously, and that by coming forward, there is a strong chance that justice will be done. This is clearly not the case at present.
I urge all partners to work together to better address this serious issue and look forward to hearing their proposals at the next
Local Criminal Justice Partnership Board.
