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Why are rape case targets being planned in England and Wales?

<span>Photograph: Janine Wiedel Photolibrary/Alamy</span>
Photograph: Janine Wiedel Photolibrary/Alamy

Downing Street is planning to impose targets for police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to force rape prosecutions to rise after years of steep decline in the number of cases reaching courts in England and Wales.

Why is Downing Street planning rape case targets for the police and CPS?

There has been a steep drop in the number of rape cases referred by police to the CPS, and an even sharper fall in the volume and proportion of rape cases prosecuted.

Referrals from police to the CPS have fallen 40% since 2016-17, while prosecutions fell 59% in the same period. Prosecutions and convictions in rape cases are now at the lowest level since records began. Despite police recording more than 55,000 rapes in 2019-20, there were just 2,102 prosecutions and 1,439 convictions. Last year 1,500 fewer rapists were convicted than three years ago.

The government launched an end-to-end review of the treatment of rape in the criminal justice system in March 2019 in an attempt to understand the decline. It was due to report in March 2020, but has been delayed and is expected to report by the end of the year.

What are the proposed targets?

They would aim to increase the number of rape cases making it to trial. The primary proposed target is an increase in the number of “effective trials” – that is, a trial that commences on a scheduled date and reaches a conclusion. It does not relate to the outcome of the trial. This would be done through more “high quality” referrals from the police to the CPS, and an increase in both rates and volumes of defendants prosecuted.

Who would enforce the targets?

It is unclear. The police are answerable to the Home Office and the CPS is supervised by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, which comes under the Attorney General’s Office.

Are targets potentially problematic?

Yes. Setting benchmarks can have unintended negative consequences. There are concerns that if targets are set before the underlying reasons for the decline in prosecutions are fully identified, the opportunity for change could be missed.

The CPS previously had targets relating to “levels of ambition” for a 60% conviction rate in rape cases. But they were dropped after prosecutors conceded they were not appropriate and may have acted as a “perverse incentive” deterring the prosecution of less straightforward cases.

Women’s groups have expressed concerns about the implementation of targets. “The danger is that a target creates an external objective which police and CPS yet again change their behaviour to meet, all the while still not focusing on victim needs and rights,” said Sarah Green of the End Violence Against Women coalition.

How would the changes be achieved?

The police and CPS will likely argue for more funding after more than a decade of cuts and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. Between 2009 and 2019, the CPS budget was cut by 25% – with 96% of prosecutors surveyed by the FDA civil service union believing it no longer had enough lawyers to fulfil its duties. Since 2010 police numbers have fallen by more than 20,000 and specialist rape units have been disbanded.