Response to today’s Crown Prosecution Service figures- Cooper and Thornberry
Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary said:
“These awful figures show a 30 per cent drop in rape cases and a 14 per cent drop in child sex offences referred by the police, with prosecutions and convictions still down even though reported rapes and incidents of child sex abuse are going up.
"Under Theresa May fewer rapists are being stopped and brought to justice and the clock is being turned back on justice for women victims of crime.
"And I am deeply worried about the drop in prosecutions for child sexual offences even though more are being reported. I am extremely concerned that the police lack the capacity and sufficient expert teams to deal with the child protection cases and sexual offences they face.
“It is good that Chief Constables have heeded our loud warnings about falling domestic violence referrals but again reported cases have increased since 2010 and prosecutions and convictions have not kept up.
"The number of reported rapes and child sex abuse incidents are all going up, but the system is failing victims badly. It is a scandal that this Government hasn’t just failed to improve the system, it’s actually gone backwards. This Government is failing to take violence against women seriously, it’s time for major action and reform.”
Emily Thornberry MP, Labour’s Shadow Attorney General said:
“While I welcome the fact the steep decline in charging decisions and prosecutions for violence against women and girls offences has slowed somewhat, they are still well behind where we were three years ago.
“Ministers never should have allowed the situation to slide to the extent that they did. In order to regain the lost ground, they now need to establish ways of ensuring that the police and CPS work together in these cases to stop them falling through the cracks in the system. Recent announcements from the CPS about refreshing guidance and monitoring decision-making have been welcome, but they may not go far enough.”