§ Mr. Bill MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases of rape persons charged by the police have not had their cases proceeded with by the Crown Prosecution Service. [34939]
§ The Attorney-GeneralI have been asked to reply.
The Crown Prosecution Service holds no central records in respect of specific offences. The information is held on individual case files, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Home Office records include details of court proceedings in respect of specific offences. This information shows that the total number of persons proceeded against for rape in 1994 was 1,625. Of this total, 297 proceedings were recorded as "terminated early". However, the definition of this outcome is much wider than proceedings discontinued by the CPS, and includes proceedings where a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant remained unexecuted; where the defendant could not be traced by the police; and where proceedings were adjourned indefinitely.
The present discontinuance rate for all CPS cases is 12 per cent.