One in five rape cases are falling through because victims are dropping out rather than wait years for their case to reach court.
Between March and May this year, 20% of prosecutions where there had been a charge were stopped after complainants withdrew their support.
Stephen Parkinson, the country’s top prosecutor, said there was a link between complainants backing out and long delays in the criminal justice system.
Victims are waiting up to five years to see their case go to trial, and Mr Parkinson told MPs this week court listings are now running into 2027.
The Director of Public Prosecutions said his two highest priorities are reducing delays and providing better support for victims.
Setting out plans to halt the ‘high level’ of victim attrition – when complainants withdraw support for prosecutions – Mr Parkinson said: ‘Delays have increased across the criminal justice system.
‘They are as bad as – or probably worse than – I have ever known them to be. One of the consequences of that is victims are withdrawing support. They’re not staying with us.
‘And one of the key reasons we have launched this programme is to try and keep victims with us.’
Mr Parkinson said the CPS had ‘more than doubled’ the number of prosecutions being brought in rape and serious sexual offence cases since 2020.
There has also been a ‘significant improvement’ in the charge rate, which has risen from 59% to 75% in the first quarter of this financial year.
But in the same latest period 62 prosecutions were stopped because the victim withdrew support – a five-fold increase on the quarterly average in 2020.
New measures to help halt that trend will see all victims of rape and serious sexual offences offered a pre-trial meeting with prosecutors ahead of their trial.
They will also have access to dedicated victim liaison officers (VLOs) who will serve as a single point of contact to answer any questions they have about their case and signpost any support they may need as it progresses.
Research carried out three years ago on the experience of victim encounters with the CPS suggested there was a ‘lack of understanding’ of the role of prosecutors, a wish for better communication and ‘more cohesion’ in the support offered within the justice system, Mr Parkinson said.
The changes will focus on improving how prosecutors communicate, so they can provide clear information and be more empathetic.
One example can be seen in letters sent to complainants in which the suspect’s name used to be stated in the very first line.
Victims reported finding this distressing, especially in cases where that was the first time they learned the identity of their attacker.
There is also a trial taking place on increasing the level of communication with victims.
Until now, contact was typically only made when charges were being altered or dropped, and when victims were met at court.
The pilot is testing contacting victims when a decision to charge has been made, in writing or by phone, to discuss the move and answer any questions.
In addition, 40 victim liaison officers (VLOs) have been hired around the country to act as a single point of contact with the CPS for victims of rape and serious sexual offences, who they can approach from the moment a charging decision is made.
The VLOs can advise where victims can get support and offer to arrange pre-trial meetings with prosecutors.
Charlotte Caulton-Scott, Head of a Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit in CPS East Midlands, said the programme is ‘vital’.
‘You can imagine having to wait between two and five years for a trial in relation to something so traumatic that has happened is devastating,’ she said.
‘If you imagine that every time you are preparing yourself to give evidence, you have to gear yourself up and you have to understand what that process is going to look like and have the confidence to go through with it – to do that on several occasions over many years is so challenging for the victims.
‘Some of the situations I have seen first-hand have been victims who feel suicidal, have sadly attempted suicide. Often, they have moved on to a new stage in their lives by the time it comes to trial.
‘For example, at the time when the offending occurred, they were a student. Four years later they’re in work, they’ve had therapy, they are in a completely different stage in their life, and so to take themselves back to a situation where they are reliving that trauma is asking a tremendous amount of somebody.’
Ms Caulton-Scott said the VLOs are an ‘absolutely incredible addition to the CPS’ and gave an example of a domestic abuse case to illustrate the impact their work can have.
The victim was ‘really struggling’ after seeing her trial date pushed back four times.
She stuck with it after being invited to meetings to discuss additional support and her abuser recently pleaded guilty in court.
‘That demonstrates that without those meetings that might have been another victim of sexual violence who couldn’t carry on,’ Ms Caulton-Scott said.
Figures show it takes 393 days on average for rape cases to progress from the point of charge to conclusion.
When you add in the 317 days on average between complaint and charging decision, victims are waiting around 700 days,
Mr Parkinsonsaid project is in its ‘early days’ but so far 550 people have been offered meetings and 28 have taken place so far, mostly online.
Victims can choose where the meetings are held and whether these are in person or online.
Some 550 staff who specialise in such cases have been trained in how to have ‘sensitive conversations’ and to combat ‘myths and misconceptions’ such as about consent.
Mr Parkinson said: ‘This is just the beginning. We’re going to evaluate if this works.
‘I’m fairly confident that it will work in terms of improving the confidence of our victims, we’re going to get feedback from them.
‘So hopefully it will improve confidence, but also hopefully it will also reduce victim attrition.’
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