§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the conviction rate and clear up rate for rape cases expressed as a percentage and in total in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.[205931
§ Mr. MichaelThe Government are very concerned about the low proportion of reported rapes that result in a conviction. The Research and Statistics Directorate in the Home Office is undertaking a study to discover what factors influence whether or not a recorded rape leads to a conviction for rape and whether such factors have changed since a similar study of 1985 cases. I am today placing in the Library copies of an interim report on the processing of rape cases in the criminal justice system.172W The interim report provides some useful information on where reported rape cases drop out before they reach court. We now need to know precisely why so many cases fail to result in a conviction. This will be covered in the final report, which should be available in the second half of next year.
My right hon. Friend has already announced a number of wide-ranging reforms to make the criminal justice system more swift and effective. In July, he also set up an inter-departmental working group to look at further ways of assisting vulnerable witnesses, including rape victims, which is due to report shortly.