HC Deb 29 March 2004 vol 419 c1284W
Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many allegations of rape were reported to the police by women in(a) 1981, (b) 1991, (c) 2001 and (d) the last year for which statistics are available; how many of these reports resulted in prosecutions in each year; and how many prosecutions were successful; [160518]

(2) how many allegations of rape were reported to the police by men in (a) 1981, (b) 1991, (c) 2001 and (d) the last year for which statistics are available; how many of these reports resulted in prosecutions in each year; and how many prosecutions were successful. [160519]

Paul Goggins

Information on crimes reported to the police are not collected centrally. However, available data on the number of offences of rape recorded by the police are given in the table.

Offences of rape recorded by the police in England and Wales
Year1 Rape of a female Rape of a male2 Total rape offences
1981 1,068 1,068
1991 4,045 4,045
2000–01 7,929 664 8,593
2001–023 8,990 730 9,720
2002–033 11,441 852 12,293
1 Numbers of offences were recorded on a calendar year basis until 1997, and on a financial year basis thereafter. There was a change of counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, which had the effect of increasing the number of crime counted. Numbers of offences for years before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
2 The offence of Rape of a male was added to the Recorded crime series from 1995.
3 The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Some police forces adopted the Standard prior to this date. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crime recorded by the police and had an overall impact of increasing crime in 2002–03 by 10 per cent., although this figure will differ for different crime types. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not directly comparable with previous years.

The available prosecution statistics are given in the table. Court proceedings data relates to offenders and it is therefore not directly comparable with the recorded crime statistics.

Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty all courts for rape offences England and Wales 1981, 1991, 2001 and 20021
Offence type Proceeded against Found guilty
1981 Rape of a female 587 320
1991 Rape of a female 1711 540
2001 Rape of a female 2,472 522
Rape of a male 179 50
2002 Rape of a female 2,780 611
Rape of a male 165 44
1 These data are on the principal offence basis