§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect on victims of serious sexual offences of being asked questions by the defendant personally in the course of a trial. [21515]
§ Mr. MichaelThere has been no specific or separate research on this issue but research into the process of rape cases is currently under way. It is often a particularly frightening and traumatic experience for the victims of serious sexual offences to have to give evidence. Ministers have expressed concern about the additional impact of extended questioning by the defendant 551W personally, while appreciating the need to protect the right of the defence to test the evidence against him. This issue is currently being considered by the inter-departmental review of vulnerable or intimidated witnesses which was announced by my right hon. Friend on 13 June 1997.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, East (Mr. Flynn) of 21 July 1997,Official Report, column 389, when he expects his Department's research into the process of rape cases to be completed; and if he will publish it. [21578]
§ Mr. MichaelThe research into the processing of rape cases by the criminal justice system, being undertaken by the Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate, is expected to be completed in the second half of 1998. The findings will be published.
An interim report from the study, setting out the emerging findings from the first stage of the study, has already been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many offenders(a) in total and (b) aged under 21 years convicted of (i) rape and (ii) attempted rape received sentences of more than three months but less than four years' imprisonment in the last year for which figures are available: [21573]
(2) how many offenders aged under 21 years and convicted of offences involving (a) sex and (b) violence were sentenced to detention in a young offenders' institution for periods of more than three months but less than four years in the last year for which figures are available. [21574]
(3) how many offenders convicted of offences involving (a) sex and (b) violence were sentenced to periods of imprisonment of more than three months but less than four years in the last year for which figures are available. [21513]
§ Mr. MichaelThe information is given in the table.
Court data, England and Wales 1996 Offenders/type of offence Total convictions Total sentenced to immediate custody1 Custodial sentence of over three months but less than four years All ages Indictable sexual offences of which: 4,426 2,439 1,535 Rape 510 454 42 Attempted rape 66 57 19 Indictable violence against the person offence group 30,011 9,147 6,260 Aged under 21 Indictable sexual offences of which: 657 133 91 Rape 74 30 7 Attempted rape 13 7 5 Indictable violence against the person offence group 10,299 2,287 1,613 1 Includes unsuspended imprisonment and for persons aged under 21 detention in a young offender institution.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the willingness 552W of victims of serious sexual offences to come forward with complaints and co-operate in criminal proceedings. [21510]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate is undertaking a study into the processing of rape cases after they have been reported to the police. This study updates a previous Home Office study of rape cases reported to the police in 1985, the results of which were published in 1992. A copy of the interim report on this study has already been placed in the Library and this shows that the withdrawal of the allegation by the victim is one of the significant reasons for rape cases failing to be prosecuted. The final stages of the research will explore the reasons for withdrawal or other failure to proceed with a case.
The Research and Statistics Directorate has also recently conducted a literature review to support the work of the inter-departmental working group which is looking at ways of assisting vulnerable witnesses, including victims of serious sexual offences. This review will be published in 1998 as part of the working group's report.
The British Crime Survey has always included measurement of sexual victimisation among women and whether incidents were reported to the police or not. However, a new self-completion approach was tried in the 1994 sweep, to overcome obvious measurement problems. The findings of this study were published in the international journal "Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention" (Volume 6 No. 2 1997). The sexual victimisation self-completion component will be repeated in the 1998 British Crime Survey. This time, both men and women will be asked about their experiences of sexual crimes.
It must be acknowledged that research in this area is difficult to conduct because:
- (a) of the sensitive nature of the offences;
- (b) of difficulties in identifying victims of unreported offences;
- (c) reasons for not reporting or not co-operating in criminal proceedings may also be reasons for not co-operating with research in this area.
Ministers are determined to do everything possible to get a true picture of the problem and to make the system more accessible, sympathetic and effective in dealing with these crimes.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants convicted of(a) rape or attempted rape, (b) indecent assault on a woman (c) and other sexual offences to which part I of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 applies, personally asked questions of their victim in the course of their trial. [21514]
§ Mr. MichaelThe information requested is not collected centrally. The Government's manifesto included a commitment to provide greater protection for victims in rape and serious sexual offence trials. On 13 June, my right hon. Friend announced the establishment of an inter-departmental review to improve the way in which such persons are treated within the criminal justice system and this includes the consideration of ways of preventing unrepresented defendants from personally cross-examining the victim.
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§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to prevent defendants personally cross-examining victims in the course of trials involving serious sexual offences. [21921]
§ Mr. MichaelThis issue is currently being considered by the inter-departmental review of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses which was announced by my right hon. Friend on 13 June 1997.