UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
The number of rape cases the police are referring to prosecutors has tumbled to its lowest level in five years prompting fears that adult victims in Jimmy Savile-like historic abuse cases are not being taken seriously as under-pressure officers ”cut corners”.
Police forces in the last financial year sent 5,404 rape cases to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for it to decide whether to charge alleged offenders – over 2,700 less than in 2010-11, CPS figures released by Solicitor General Oliver Heald showed.
The drop-off came despite a steady increase in the number of rapes reported to the police in England and Wales between 2008 and 2013, prompting shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry to voice concerns that officers under pressure following budget cuts may be ”cutting corners”.
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