Rape prosecutions 'must improve'

Ministers have long been concerned by low rape conviction rates

Police and prosecutors are failing to implement measures to boost the rape conviction rate, watchdogs have warned.

The police and the Crown Prosecution Service watchdogs said more effort should be made to build stronger cases.

Their report says too many rape claims are wrongly dismissed as unfounded, and some cases are dropped prematurely.

Only 5% of reported rapes results in a conviction. Thedirector of public prosecutions says he is "determined" to improve theway rape cases are handled.

'Bad character'

The 175-page study was written by Her Majesty'sInspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty's Crown ProsecutionService Inspectorate (HMCPSI).

We must make sure that we do what we are supposed to do when handling these cases Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald

Police wrongly recorded rape allegations as "no crimes"in nearly a third of cases when the claims should have beeninvestigated further, the report said.

It said the scale of false allegations was beingover-estimated, and subjective judgments were being made about victimcredibility.

The document recommends that police and prosecutors makebetter use of evidence which shows a defendant's previous "badcharacter", as it can now be used in court against them.

Inspectors found that some police looked only for previous convictions instead of carrying out a wider search.

There were also concerns that the Crown ProsecutionService (CPS) has no criteria for its specialist rape prosecutors,including minimum levels of competence.

Detection rates

And the report says CPS decisions to take no further action were taken "prematurely" in a number of cases.

Stephen Wooller - chief inspector of the CPS - said:"What has really got to happen now is a period of ensuring that whatshould be done is actually being done in practice."

The report also argues that, where there is a disputeover whether the woman consented to sex, the authorities need tochallenge the defendants' claims of consent "more vigorously".

And fears are expressed over high levels of variation in the detection rate in different police forces, from 22% to 93%.

Other concerns raised in the document include:

Some 752 reported rapes in 2005 were reviewed by inspectors, of which 179 were recorded by police as "no crimes".

However, investigations by the watchdogs revealed that57 of these cases - 32% - did not comply with Home Office guidance andshould have remained as recorded crimes.

'Determined'

Dr Katherine Rake, director of equality campaign group the Fawcett Society, said "wholesale reform" was needed.

"Responses to allegations of rape need to improve allover the country so that women receive the help and support that theyneed at a time of crisis," she said.

Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald said:"I am determined to improve the way we deal with these cases from startto finish.

"We must make sure that we do what we are supposed to do when handling these cases."