Rape Monitoring Group statistics show significant increase in reporting of rape and sexual offences

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Adult Sex Offences, Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said:

“The police service has made changes to how we investigate rape and sexual offences and we now focus strongly on the victims’ needs. The police service will do everything we can to investigate these crimes and present the evidence obtained to the Crown Prosecution Service who will make the decision about whether to charge a suspect; if charged, the case progresses to the courts where the evidence to be tested in front of an jury.

The increase in reporting is a strong endorsement that this victim led approach is ensuring increased victim confidence, however, these cases remain complex to investigate and prosecute.  In the past year, there has been a marginal increase in numbers of charges or summons but when this is offset by the dramatic increase in reporting there has been a nominal decrease in the overall charge numbers across England and Wales."