Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of successful prosecutions for incidences of rape.

Karen Bradley

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of rape. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling rape cases, and improved referrals from the police to prosecutors to increase successful prosecutions.

We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.