Rape victims are being “continually and systematically failed” by the criminal justice system, a scathing root-and-branch watchdog examination has found.
Inspectors highlighted a lack of collaboration between the police and prosecutors, and poor communication with victims – including minimal updates about how their cases were progressing.
It also took an average of nearly two years (706 days) between reporting an offence to police and the start of a criminal trial, according to the report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).
One case took 16 years to reach court due to “an apparent lack of evidence”, despite the presence of DNA at the scene.
Wendy Williams, HM Inspector of Constabulary, and Andrew Cayley QC, HM Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Inspectorate, said: “Rape victims are continually and systematically failed by the criminal justice system.
“We found many hardworking professionals who are dedicated to supporting victims and pursuing perpetrators, but we also found some deep divisions between the police and prosecutors which must be overcome.”
The report made a number of recommendations, including creating either temporary or permanent specialist rape courts within the next three months to help clear the case backlog.
It also suggested the police and the CPS should work together to ensure that a defendant’s “bad character” is considered in all rape cases, and progressed wherever it is applicable, amid anecdotal evidence prosecutors and investigators were often missing opportunities to present such evidence before the courts.
Figures released earlier this year showed that in the 12 months to September 2021, only 1.3 per cent of the 63,136 rape offences recorded by police resulted in a suspect being charged.
One survivor told the report investigators: “It was ridiculous how long it took.
“He was out there drinking around females. He was able to go abroad on holidays.
“I thought, how is it that I am here, I am financially ruined, I am severely traumatised and barely keeping it together, and yet the system allows him to just go off and do what he wants?”
There are an estimated 128,000 victims of rape and attempted rape a year.