Rape suspects are 'taking advantage' of delays in the system

Rape suspects are 'taking advantage' of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty in the hope that frustrated victims will drop out, Britain's top prosecutor has warned.

The head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Stephen Parkinson suggested defendants are playing the system calculating that victims waiting years for justice may withdraw as cases are now being delayed until late 2027.

The Director of Public Prosecutions said the length of time it is taking for police to investigate crimes and bring them to court is 'outrageous'.

He revealed that 10 per cent of sex offence victims withdraw their support after charges have been brought, while many more drop out during lengthy police investigations.

'Typically, it can take two years to investigate a rape case and another two years to bring it to trial,' he said.

'I think that's outrageous. We see too many victims, usually women, withdrawing their co-operation because of the delay and also because they don't feel sufficiently supported.'

He told the Sunday Times that defendants were 'taking advantage' of delays by entering not guilty pleas because they were 'hoping that something will come up' to cause a case to collapse.

In a bid to stop this, all rape victims will now be offered a named liaison officer to help them to navigate court proceedings.

The CPS has so far recruited 40 liason officers across the country.

He said: '[Victims] will be given the opportunity to meet the prosecution team.

'We can walk them through the process. They can call at any time.'

The CPS is also seeking to reduce delays by expanding the pool of prosecutors specialising in serious sex crimes and serving defendants with the full evidence against them much earlier in proceedings.

Mr Parkinson also supports more funding through legal aid for defence lawyers so defendants can understand the weight of evidence against them, encouraging them to plead guilty at the first court hearing to qualify for a reduced sentence.

A record backlog of 71,000 cases are awaiting trial across the country, up from 38,000 before the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week a survey led by the Government's independent adviser on rape revealed just one in ten victims of rape and sexual assault said they would report the crimes against them again. 

In an interview marking his first year in post, the 67-year-old DPP admitted that historically not enough emphasis has been placed on the accounts of women making allegations of abuse against powerful men such as Mohamed Al Fayed, the late Harrods owner accused of multiple sex attacks.

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He said: 'In the past, too much time had been spent analysing what the victim had said.

'The centre of gravity seemed to be around the victim's account. The switch that we've made has been to absolutely focus on the suspect.'

But Mr Parkinson refused to say whether he regretted the fact that Al Fayed was not put on trial before his death last year.

He said he was unable to comment during ongoing police investigations into those who may have enabled the abuse.

Scotland Yard investigated 21 allegations against the Egyptian businessman from 2005 to 2023, including two cases that went to the CPS for a charging decision.

Prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to go to trial.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Parkinson said he had been asked to consider charges in 'five or six cases' of assisted suicide in the last year, but decided not to prosecute.

He refused to say if the CPS supported a private member's bill to decriminalise assisted dying.

He said: 'What I would say about the common law is that it requires the personal decision of the DPP.

'I'm not a robot. There's an element of compassion that I've brought to my decisions, and I think that's right.'