Wales has lowest rape conviction rate of all Crown Prosecution Service regions
Wales has the lowest rape conviction rate of the 14 Crown Prosecution Service regions, with only two-thirds of those prosecuted eventually convicted of the crime, according to new figures.
The findings, disclosed by the Labour Party, were based on an analysis of CPS prosecutions between March last year and March this year.
The South West of England had the highest rape conviction rate, at 84.5%.
The numbers prosecuted are however likely to be a very small percentage of rapes. Across Wales and England, fewer than 20% of the 128,000 yearly rape and attempted victims report the crime to the police, according to a CPS review. And of those, just 1.6% of rapes reported result in someone being charged.
Wales shares a justice system with England, which is not devolved. Labour’s manifesto for May’s Senedd election included a call for the devolution of justice powers.
‘Unaccptable’
Ellie Reeves, Labour’s shadow solicitor general, said that the latest figures were further proof of how the Conservatives had “let down” rape victims. They want the government to fast-track rape and sexual violence cases through courts and offer more help to victims.
“This Tory government is letting down victims of rape on every front,” she said. “Where you live should not impact on rape victims getting access to justice. And yet under the Tories and their mismanagement of priorities some rape victims won’t get justice due to where they live in the country.
“The government should urgently introduce Labour’s root and branch reforms to support rape victims.”
A CPS spokeswoman responded: “We are committed to improving every aspect of how offences of violence against women and girls are handled and working with other agencies to reduce the unacceptable gap between reports of these devastating crimes and victims seeing justice.”
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This is a call for a better form of discourse – there are few social subjects that highlight this necessity more than the subject of rape and the judicial system. I do sincerely hope that this comment section does not become polluted by those who are ignorant regarding statistical analysis, the law, etc. There are plenty of axe-grinding ‘activists’ from all sides who love this subject as a hot button to press. This is a particularly difficult area to understand (hence my lack of contextual commentary – I don’t want to talk about things I don’t know enough about), and… Read more »
I could post links to several reports, some independent, that have concluded that justice and policing should be devolved to Wales. The continued lack of any sort of acknowledgement from Westminster that this should happen, has, for some time been shocking, and for us to get the system we deserve, I can only come to one conclusion, that we will never get it if we stay as we are constitution wise. I will post the one link, the justice commission report stating we must devolve justice to get a fairer system for our people.
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-10/Justice%20Commission%20Summary%20ENG%20DIGITAL_0.pdf
This data is pretty crude and meaningless without further analysis. Does it show that there is a greater propensity in Wales to proceed with prosecutions based on weaker evidence? Or that, as this piece implies, it is harder to secure a rape conviction in Wales?
There are plenty of articles online to explain in more detail why the system is failing in Wales, and why we imprison more people than any of the other western countries, per size of population, and why we have such low conviction rates in areas such as rape. But what it bolls down to, is the system we have is not fit for purpose and failing, and we need to get it sorted, but as in the article below, the MOJ in Westminster will not even contemplate changes, so we are stuck with what we have.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-50128933
I accept all that you say. I just wish there was more thoughtful analysis in this piece.
Domestic abuse is too difficult for us here. But policemen walking streets two by two, and licencing laws that reduce drunken behaviour could reduce the horror?
That’s a bit limited. You can add substance abuse, media promotion of violence especially films, internet and TV access to porn, and so on. Police presence rarely if ever prevents rape although it may improve response times when a victim calls for help. Big challenge for society which won’t be overcome in one step so any number of small steps will help.