Wednesday, 31 January 2007
Shocking Facts
I was shocked by the news today. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service watchdogs have said that the police are failing to use appropriate measures to improve the rape conviction rate. While correct policies are in place, they are not being followed.
Did you know that the rape conviction rate is currently a paltry 5.31%? The question on my lips is: why? Why is this percentage so small? How can this be so?
A report was written by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) after they investigated 752 reports of rape in 2005. Of these, 179 were reported as "no crime". Yet the inspectors found that 57 of these cases - 32% - did not fit the guidelines for such a classification and should have been investigated further.
And that is not all!
According to the BBC News page:
- The scale of false allegations has been overestimated;
- Subjective judgements of the victim's credibility are often made;
- The CPS has no criteria for specialist rape prosecutors;
- The detection rate from force to force varies between 22% - 93%;
- There is inconsistency in the manner in which forensic doctors examine victims;
- Frontline officers often lack appropriate training.
In what we proudly call a modern, civilised society, can these injustices be allowed to continue? In 2001, it is estimated that there were 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault, of which there were 47,000 female victims of rape or attempted rape (source available at Rape Crisis). Yet rape is the most under-reported serious crime. And with such a low conviction rate and the stigma associated with being a rape victim, are you surprised?
Let's return to that low conviction rate. As stated above, according to ITN News, the conviction rate for rape is currently just 5.31%. I have also found regional conviction rates for rape by police forces in England and Wales 2004; the national rate at the time was 5.29%, so it appears that not much has changed.
What scares me is that the conviction rate for where I currently live was lower than the national average! But at least in 2004 I didn't live in Cambridgeshire (conviction rate = 1.75%), Suffolk (1.60%) or Gloucestershire (0.86%)! I wonder, how much have these regional conviction rates changed since then?
The region with the best rape conviction rate in England and Wales in 2004 was Northamptonshire, with just 13.79%. Compare this with Northamptonshire's conviction rate for criminal damage offences between September 2004 and August 2005 (source available at Your Right To Know website), which was the lowest regional rate for that area of crime: 414 successful convictions in 582 cases, which is 71.13%.
Let's recap:
The lowest regional conviction rate for criminal damage offences between September 2004 and August 2005 was FIVE TIMES HIGHER than the highest regional conviction rate for rape offences in 2004.
Take a look at the source I link to above for the conviction rates of other criminal offence categories. None are as low as the rate for rape. Why?
This is a serious issue that we all need to face. Something has to be done. Attitudes have to change. Read Rape Crisis' Myths and Facts page and also find out How You Can Help. Visit Truth About Rape to find out more about what is going on and what you can do (I suggest trying the Student Resources and Ideas For Action pages).
I repeat: the conviction rate for rape offences is 5.31%. It is simply not good enough. The victims need our help to fight this injustice. Now.
