North Yorkshire: Just one in 32 rape offences led to charge

Rape Crisis England and Wales said increased charging rates and access to specialist sexual violence support is vital, as recent data shows rape offences took police forces the longest time to investigate and charge.

North Yorkshire Police said rape crimes are “extremely complex” and on average take 14 months to fully investigate.

Home Office figures show there were 672 rape offences recorded by North Yorkshire Police in the year to March. Of them, 21 resulted in a charge or summons – accounting for just 3.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, the police force had an average charge and summons rate of 7.4 per cent across all offences.

Across England and Wales, 2.6 per cent of rape offences led to a charge or summons, while the overall charge rate for all recorded offences was 6.4 per cent.

Ciara Bergman, chief executive of Rape Crisis, said: "This data reflects what we already know: the criminal justice system must do better for victims and survivors."

Jo Coles, York and North Yorkshire’s deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, told The Press that prosecution rates for rapes and sexual violence are “shamefully low” across the country, adding: “Too many victims drop out of our broken justice system.

“This is a national challenge and the government has set out policy to address this by halving violence against women and girls within a decade.”

Jo Coles, York and North Yorkshire’s deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime (Image: Supplied)

The Home Office said rape offences that led to a charge or court summons took the longest time to investigate, at an average of 423 days. This is compared with 55 days for violence against the person offences and 28 days for theft offences.

Of the rape offences recorded in North Yorkshire, 36.2 per cent were not assigned an outcome as of March, meaning they were still under investigation.

North Yorkshire Police urged any victim of sexual assault or rape to come forward “no matter when it happened”, saying: “You will be listened to.”

The force said it – along with other police forces in England and Wales – has implemented a new programme, called Operation Soteria, to tackle rape and serious sexual offences.

“This was a huge step forward in how we investigate crime; it ensures that victims receive the help that they need and deserve,” a police spokesperson told The Press.

They added: “Although the statistics are accurate, they are based on crime recorded within that financial year and were a point in time at submission. Since the data has been recorded a further four have resulted in charges or summons which increases our number to 3.7 per cent (versus the national at 2.6 per cent).”

The spokesperson said 161 of the crimes remain under investigation.

“Rape crimes are extremely complex and on average take 14 months to fully investigate as we are methodical in our approach to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcome for victims,” they said.

“Reporting incidents can be extremely daunting and that’s why we're here to help you. We will be sympathetic and offer support through the criminal justice system, every step of the way.”

'Rape victims aren’t getting the justice they deserve' - government

Cllr Coles, who took up the post in July, said she has met with partners across policing and the justice system to “better understand what we need to do locally to start to address this problem”.

“For example we need to look at how we could fast-track rape cases and better support victims to ensure they have faith in the criminal justice process.

“There’s a lot of work to do but I’m committed to doing all I can to ensure the victims of serious offences like these get the justice they deserve and people in all our communities are kept safe.”

Separate figures from The Crown Prosecution Service show 3,847 suspects were charged in all rape cases referred for a charging decision in 2023-24, a 28 percent increase on the year before.

The CPS said it consistently charges around seven out of 10 rape or serious sexual offence cases referred by police for a charging decision.

A government spokesperson said: "In far too many cases, rape victims aren’t getting the justice they deserve. It is important that police and prosecutors work together in a timely way to build the strongest possible case.

"We have committed to fast-tracking rape cases and are carefully considering the best way to do this. We are working with the judiciary and will announce next steps in due course."