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1133384

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many cases of alleged rape were referred to the CPS in each year since 2015-16, and in how many of those cases the CPS pressed charges in each of those years; and what the (a) average, (b) shortest and (c) longest period of time between referral and charging was for those cases.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	266848
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Rape is a serious sexual offence which has a profound impact on victims. The CPS works closely with the Police to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated before charges are brought because it is in the interests of both victims and perpetrators that cases do not collapse mid-trial.</p><p> </p><p>Cases involving rape and serious sexual offences are some of the most challenging, complex cases that the CPS deals with. They involve very little corroborative evidence in comparison with other cases, and this can result them taking longer to progress through the system. However, the CPS recognises that these offences are devastating crimes that have a significant impact on victims.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS maintains a record of the average number of days taken from referral through to a decision to charge. This data can be seen at annex A. However data is not held on the shortest or longest number of days from submission of a rape case by the police to the CPS through to the date of the decision to charge.</p><p> </p><p>There are a number of reasons for the steady increase in the average number of days and average number of consultations per case since 2015/16. Police are now more regularly encouraged to seek ‘early investigative advice’ to help determine what evidence is required for charge more often. Early investigative advice helps to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated and the evidence to be brought before the court is strong. As a result, the CPS is more often involved at an earlier stage in proceedings which impacts on the average number of consultations and overall timeliness.</p><p> </p><p>There has also been an increase in the complexity of rape cases investigated by the police. Investigations often involve large amounts of electronic material (social media, emails, text messages, video and photographs) which needs to be reviewed by prosecutors before a charging decision can be made. This also impacts on the average number of consultations and timeliness of the pre-charge stage of the case.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 24/06/2019 16:48:06 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer attachment 1 file name 266848 - Annex A.docx title Annex A
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1133385

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many Rape and Serious Sexual Offences prosecutors have been available to make Crown Prosecution Service charging decisions in each year since 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	266849
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Rape and serious sexual assault offence (RASSO) cases are among the most sensitive and complex cases prosecuted by the CPS, and they have a profound impact on victims. To address this, CPS has undertaken extensive work over the last decade to ensure that specialist prosecutors are fully equipped to deal with the particular complexities of rape cases.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of RASSO cases are handled by specialist prosecutors working in either dedicated Area RASSO units or the dedicated CPS charging service CPS Direct. The first dedicated Area RASSO Units were established in 2014. The number of RASSO unit prosecutors and CPS Direct Prosecutors is displayed at Annex A.</p><p> </p><p>A small number of rape and serious sexual offence cases are dealt with by RASSO trained specialist prosecutors in the Central Casework Divisions (CCDs). It is not possible to provide year on year numbers of RASSO trained specialist prosecutors in the CCDs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 24/06/2019 16:50:29 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer attachment 1 file name 266849 - Annex A.docx title Annex A
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1133386

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of rape and serious sexual offence cases did not result in CPS charging advice (a) within 28 days, (b) within 2 months, (c) within 3 months, (d) within 4 months, (e) within 5 months, (f) in over 6 months and (g) in over 12 months of being referred to the CPS by the police in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	266850
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Rape and serious sexual offences are devastating crimes that have a profound impact on victims. Cases involving rape and serious sexual offences are some of the most challenging and complex cases that the CPS deals with. They involve very little corroborative evidence in comparison with other cases which can result in them taking longer to progress through the system. Where evidence submitted by the Police is sufficient to bring charges, the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute. The CPS works closely with the Police to ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated before charges are brought because it is in the interests of both victims and perpetrators that cases do not collapse mid-trial.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS does not maintain a record of the number of days between referral and a non-charging outcome. However, the CPS does maintain a record of the average number of days taken from referral through to a decision to charge, and this data can be found in answer 266848.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 24/06/2019 16:52:12 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1132928

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of reported rape cases that were passed to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police forces of England and Wales were returned to the police for further evidence to be gathered in 2017-18.
	tabling member constituency	Torfaen
	tabling member printed	Nick Thomas-Symonds
	uin	266227
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Rape is a horrific crime which has a significant and profound impact on victims. It is vital to ensure that cases are investigated thoroughly in order to bring them to justice. To achieve this, it is necessary in many cases to seek further information before a prosecutor is able to determine whether or not to charge. This process ensures that cases are as robust as possible once they reach the court.</p><p>In 2017-18, cases were referred back to the Police for 61% of suspects in cases recorded as rape in the system. Whilst one situation where the CPS may refer a case back to the Police is to request further evidence, it could also be in instances when the Police have sought ‘early investigative advice’ from the CPS to assist in determining the evidence required for a charge. It is not possible to separate cases where the CPS has requested further evidence and when the Police have sought early investigative advice.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 24/06/2019 15:26:16 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4479 label Biography information for Nick Thomas-Symonds

1132935

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Rape: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of reported rape cases in 2017-18 passed to the CPS by the police forces of England and Wales were returned to the police for further evidence to be gathered, and were not subsequently returned to the CPS with that further evidence.
	tabling member constituency	Torfaen
	tabling member printed	Nick Thomas-Symonds
	uin	266233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The CPS recognises that rape and serious sexual offences have a significant and profound impact on victims. It is vital to ensure that cases are investigated thoroughly in order to bring them to justice. To achieve this, it is necessary in many cases to seek further information before a prosecutor is able to determine whether or not to charge. In such cases, an action plan requesting further evidence will be provided to the police by the CPS.</p><p> </p><p>When the Police are unable to respond to the action plan, the case is administratively finalised. This is an administrative process where cases are closed on the CPS’s Case Management System if, after reminders from the CPS, the Police do not submit further information. Such cases may be reopened if, at a later date, new material is provided to the CPS by the Police enabling them to decide whether to charge.</p><p> </p><p>The Police may also seek ‘early investigative advice’ from the CPS to assist in determining the evidence required for a charge. In these cases the CPS may also administratively finalise a case if after receiving CPS advice, the Police do not re-submit the case.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017/18, 22% of all rape cases referred to the CPS were administratively finalised.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 24/06/2019 16:34:49 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4479 label Biography information for Nick Thomas-Symonds