Domestic violence cases prosecuted robustly

More than a third of domestic violence victims in London retracted their complaints, according to a CPS study.

But of the 69 cases where the victim withdrew, nearly a half - 34 - went ahead anyway.

Analysing domestic violence figures from all Areas, the fifth and final CPS snapshot exercise monitored 221 cases in London.

Forty-eight of the 69 victims who retracted did so before trial, 13 before plea and seven at trial. It was decided to continue 34 cases.

Victims in four of these cases gave evidence and 16 witness summons were issued. Twelve of the defendants pleaded guilty.

In cases where a prosecution was successful, contact with the CPS was cited as the reason for the outcome.

Nationally, the study - carried out last December - showed a three per cent rise in the number of cases over the previous year. This was double the 2002 figure.

Conviction rates rose from 59 per cent in 2005 to 66 per cent - an improvement of 20 per cent over three years. Victim retractions fell from 37 per cent in 2002 to 28 per cent last year.