The country’s top prosecutor today vowed to address a record slump in rape convictions as he unveiled new measures to boost the number of cases being brought to court.
Max Hill QC, the director of public prosecutions, insisted that police and prosecutors are working with “one goal in mind” to bring rapists to justice, as he appealed to victims to come forward.
Figures showed that the number of rape convictions has fallen to a new low, with fewer than 1,439 successful prosecutions over the 12 months to the end of March.
The tally is down by about 500 on the previous year and half the total three years ago.
The number of completed prosecutions, which includes acquittals, has also plummeted over the past three years, while the number of cases being referred to prosecutors by police has dropped in similarly dramatic fashion.
The decline follows the failure of a series of high-profile court failures in which male suspects were cleared after phone evidence that had not initially been disclosed to defence lawyers emerged to exonerate them.
Campaigners have accused prosecutors of being overcautious as a result and of declining to take on some more difficult cases so that they can hit a target for successful prosecutions.
Mr Hill denied that there were targets and said a five-year action plan was being implemented with police, including early advice on how to effectively focus investigations, and improved communication with complainants.
