London’s rape victims are dropping out of up to three quarters of criminal cases before a charge can be brought, a new report on the “failing” justice system has found.
Across all crime types, around 40 per cent of victims withdraw from the investigation prior to a suspect being charged.
That figure rises to 59 per cent in domestic abuse cases, 69 per cent for adult rape, and as high as 74 per cent for rape cases involving domestic abuse.
London’s Victims Commissioner Claire Waxman has produced a new report, detailing the shocking figures alongside the accounts of victims who abandoned hope of seeing justice being done.
"I felt stupid, I felt embarrassed, I felt quite humiliated, I felt a lot of shame”, said a woman after reporting domestic abuse to police.
She said it felt like “this was the wrong decision, because the shutdown was immediate."
Similarly, a sexual assault complainant said they “felt like I'd wasted my time - I felt like I'd done something wrong”.
An alleged domestic abuse victim told the inquiry of feeling “like I wouldn’t be believed”, while a support worker observing police with victims reported “eye rolls, huffs and puffs” when an interpreter is needed.
Courts across England and Wales are in crisis, with a backlog of 77,000 cases and chronic delays.
One victim told the investigation of “being left in limbo”, while another reported: “I didn’t hear anything from the police, no updates from the investigation.”
Ms Waxman’s report analysed Metropolitan Police data, and found withdrawal rates over 40 per cent for offences of rape, sexual offending, stalking, harassment, and violence.
“There is a national failure to deliver justice for victims”, she concluded, while calling for extra funding from government and a “radical new approach to helping victims”.
The report set out: “Too many victims are left to cope alone with long delays, complex procedures, and little understanding of what comes next, leaving many to walk away from the justice process.
“With court backlogs at a record high in London, and cases being listed into 2029, the system has ground the speed of justice to a crawl, and this research lays bare the impact this has on victims.”
Ms Waxman is backing proposals from retired judge Sir Brian Leveson to overhaul the courts system, including cutting back the jury trial system in a bid to tackle delays.
Ms Waxman has also recommended greater oversight of police interaction with alleged victims, better recording of the reasons for withdrawal, and more funding for support services.
“In policing there are good officers who go above and beyond, those who try but are hampered by a lack of capacity and resources, and unfortunately there are officers who use victim withdrawal as an easy way of closing cases”, she said.
“When victims are brave enough to report a crime, they deserve respect, support, and swift access to justice. Instead, we make an unreasonable ask of them: that they put their life on hold for years through a traumatic process.”
Her report included words from police officers who said victims come to them with high expectations but also a lack of trust.
“It's balancing the expectations and the practicalities of what we can and can't do with the main aim of trying to...reduce the risk and provide the best care to the victims”, said one.
Another added: “We have a very narrow window of time to secure the confidence of a victim survivor, so the quicker we can get there, the better the response, the quicker that we can do some sort of offender intervention, either through an arrest or otherwise, the more likely it is that we will secure a criminal justice outcome.”
Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said there are “far too many victims feeling compelled to withdraw from delayed proceedings at an alarming rate.”
He said the Met has “improved the service victims and survivors receive at first contact and boosted specialist support teams”, but added: “There are still big parts of the criminal justice system journey which are failing.”
Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones added that “victims and survivors of sexual abuse have been paying the price for too long, enduring unimaginable waits for their day in court”.
“This is no less than a national emergency. Sir Brian Leveson recently put forward his proposals for once-in-a-generation reform of our courts, to deliver swifter justice for victims and help us on our mission to halve violence against women and girls. We will respond to these in detail in the Autumn.”
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