Rape cases should be tried in specialist courts, says report

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Specialist courts dealing solely with rape offences are needed to reduce a large case backlog and reduce victims' trauma, a watchdogs' report urges.

The BBC understands that Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is taking advice on the feasibility of such courts.

Victims of rape are being failed by a system beset by delays and poor communication, the report by the police and prosecution service watchdogs says.

One victim told the authors her court experience had been "horrendous".

The report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Crown Prosecution Inspectorate highlights that in England and Wales:

• on average 706 days elapsed from the date of reporting an offence, to a case reaching court
• communication with victims was often poor, particularly once someone had been charged
• in more than half of the cases the inspectors looked at, trial dates were postponed without notice

Another victim recalled 21 court delays, mostly with 24 hours' notice, and the case, which was expected to last four days, ultimately took 10 months.

All this contributes to successful prosecutions of rape remaining unacceptably low, the inspectors argue.

The report focuses on figures for the year to March 2021, which show 52,207 cases of rape were recorded by police.

But charges were brought in only 3,144 cases, and just 1,109 resulted in a successful prosecution.

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Victims whose cases made it to court said their experiences had been traumatic.

"I was not expecting it to be easy," one told the inspectors.

"But it felt as though the victim and perpetrator roles were reversed, such was the ferocity of the questioning.

"It was the most horrendous experience that I would never wish upon anyone, and it haunts me still."

The report's recommendations include measures to:

• significantly improve communications with victims
• introduce specialist rape offence courts to help clear a significant case backlog
• appoint a victims' commissioner with explicit responsibility for serious sexual offences

"Victim care and support is an absolute moral imperative, and these victims have gone through extremely traumatic experiences," said Wendy Williams, Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary.

'Terrifying experience'

Andrew Cayley, HM Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Inspectorate, suggested some of the government's pop-up Nightingale Courts, set up during the pandemic, could be used as specialist rape courts.

Judges already have "a great deal of discretion on how a victim of rape is questioned", said Mr Cayley.

They can already allow victims to give evidence on video or behind a screen.

The aim would be that "this terrifying experience that victims have often had in courts under cross-examination is not eliminated, but certainly heavily reduced", he said.

The government said ministers would consider the report's recommendations carefully.

"We are recruiting more specialist prosecutors, investing millions to deliver justice more swiftly, transforming the response to rape cases, focusing on the alleged suspects rather than complainants' credibility, and ensuring that victims receive the support they deserve," said an official.

The BBC also understands that Mr Raab is taking advice on how specialist courts, dealing solely with rape cases, could work.

"This is a sobering and considered analysis," he said in a statement.

Ruth Davison, chief executive of the domestic abuse charity Refuge, welcomed the report's call for widespread reform.

"The government has committed to ensuring survivors are 'better heard, served and protected', and this report shows that those actions are desperately needed," she said.

The director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, Max Hill QC, said the Crown Prosecution Service was committed to making the changes needed to ensure more victims of sexual offences see justice.

Chief Constable Sarah Crew, National Police Chiefs' Council lead for adult sex offences, said work was under way to improve the policing response.

"We understand change isn't happening fast enough, but this is an opportunity to bring about real and sustainable change to the handling of these traumatic offences, to transform the victim experience and bring more perpetrators to justice," she said.