Police Slammed On Rape Convictions

Police and prosecutors are failing to effectively implement a wide range of measures designed to boost the rape conviction rate, watchdogs have said. Inspectors found police wrongly recorded rape allegations as “no crimes” in nearly a third of cases when the claims should have been investigated further.

{mosimage}The findings by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) concluded that although many of the correct policies were in place, the moves were not always put into practice on the ground. The report will prove embarrassing for ministers, who have been attempting for years to increase the extremely low conviction rate for the crime, which now stands at just 5.31%.

It said police and prosecutors need to make better use of evidence which shows a defendant’s previous “bad character”, which can now be used in court against them. Some police look only for previous convictions rather than carrying out a wider search, it found.

Other concerns and shortcomings included the Crown Prosecution Service having no criteria for its specialist rape prosecutors, including minimum levels of competence; little consistency in the way forensic doctors are employed to examine victims; and high levels of variation in the detection rate in different police forces, from 22% to 93%.

The inspectors reviewed 752 reported rapes in 2005, and of those 179 were recorded by police as “no crimes”. But investigations by the watchdogs found 57 of these cases (32%) did not comply with Home Office guidance and should have remained as recorded crimes.

Chief inspector of the CPS Stephen Wooller said: “What has really got to happen now is a period of ensuring that what should be done is actually being done in practice.”