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<table><tbody><tr><td><p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a record
of the average number of days taken from a report of rape to the police through to
a decision to charge. Data is, however, held on the average number of days from submission
of a rape case by the police to the CPS through to the date of the decision to charge.
The CPS works closely with police colleagues to ensure that where individuals are
charged, cases have been thoroughly investigated and individuals are properly charged
and prosecuted so that the interests of both victims and perpetrators are protected
and cases do not collapse mid-trial. The figures provided in the table below include
the end to end timeliness from submission to the date of the decision to charge. This
comprises of the time when the case was with both police and the CPS. <table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial
Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong> <strong>Average Number of Calendar
Days </strong> <strong>Receipt to Decision to Charge</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average
Consultations per Suspect</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010-2011</strong></p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>1.71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011-2012</strong></p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>1.74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012-2013</strong></p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>1.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013-2014</strong></p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>1.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014-2015</strong></p></td><td><p>55</p></td><td><p>1.65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015-2016</strong></p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>1.66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016-2017</strong></p></td><td><p>67</p></td><td><p>1.80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017-2018</strong></p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>1.97</p></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody></table><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 2010/11. The number of
consultations between CPS prosecutors and police investigators is important. Consultations
allow for a close examination of the evidence thus ensuring the case is strong. Clearly,
the more consultations that take place, the longer the time between receipt of the
case and the decision to charge.</p><p> </p><p>Police are now encouraged to seek early
investigative advice more often and in particular in rape and serious sexual offences
cases. 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, fewer cases
are dropped after the defendant has been charged. With the increase in early investigative
advice, CPS is more often involved at an earlier stage in proceedings and this will
invariably impact 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><p>CPS prosecutors work closely with police colleagues to build strong cases which
can be brought before the courts. Increased complexity has been evidenced over time
by the rise in the average number of consultations with the police. Since 2010/11,
the number has increased from 1.71 to 1.98 consultations per case, a rise of 16%.</p><p>
</p><p>Changes have now been made to the Casework Management System to provide for
a more sophisticated level of reporting. In future, CPS will be able to report the
timeliness for each individual consultation.</p>
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