Q1 CPS data shows a continued increase in the number of suspects charged in rape flagged cases
Between April and June this year, there was a 9.4% increase in the number of suspects charged in adult rape flagged cases from 859 in Q4 22/23 to 940 in Q1 23/24.
According to the Q1 data released today there has been an increase in adult rape flagged charges of 136% since January 2021.
There has also been an 91% increase in rape flagged referrals where police approach the CPS for either advice or a charging decision. Offering early advice in every rape case is one of the key pledges prosecutors have made as part of the new national operating model.
The number of police referrals for rape flagged cases has continued to increase, with the number of adult rape flagged cases brought to the CPS for a charging decision up by 5.2% this quarter.
The CPS recently rolled out a new national operating model for adult rape across all 14 CPS Areas in England and Wales with a renewed commitment to work with police to transform adult rape prosecutions and drive up the number of cases charged.
Max Hill KC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "We are continuing to deliver on our commitment to drive up the number of rape cases going to court, and I am pleased at the great strides we have made since January 2021.
"We know we still have a long way to go, and we will continue to listen to partners and victims along the way."
Notes to editors
- The Q1 quarterly data summary is available on the CPS website. This is CPS performance management data
- Rape flagged cases: Data is rape flagged in all cases where an allegation of rape has been made regardless of the final offence.
- The rape flag remains, even if a decision is taken to charge an offence other than rape or where a rape charge is subsequently amended, to ensure we’re properly applying our rape and serious sexual offences policy.
- The flag allows us to track and monitor trends, around decisions to take no further action and we review all rape-flagged cases to understand how they progress and identify potential learnings.
- When we looked at every rape flagged case in 2022 we saw that 85% of cases initially marked as rape flagged prosecutions had at least one rape offence charged. A further 12% were prosecuted in a Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, so would have been charged with a serious sexual offence.