Rape victims who had cases dropped could demand review over 'secret prosecution targets'

Targets revealed amid legal action against Crown Prosecution Service over plummeting rape charges

(PA)

Rape victims whose alleged attackers were not prosecuted could have their cases reviewed in light of the exposure of “secret targets”, a watchdog has said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has repeatedly denied making changes to its policy and practice on rape cases, following a sharp drop in charges.

But previously unseen documents have revealed the existence of internal targets that campaigners say sparked moves to cut out “weak” cases.

The national CPS “level of ambition” was raised to 60 per cent in 2016, and the benchmark was used to assess prosecutors across the country.

Claire Waxman, the London Victims’ Commissioner, told The Independent: “If victims and survivors of rape feel they have been denied justice during the period when these ‘secret targets’ could have been applied and want to have their cases reviewed in light of this new revelation, then the CPS must respond.

“There are no guarantees that the outcome would be different, but I know how important it is for those who have been failed justice to be properly considered and heard.”

The Independent has spoken to several rape complainants whose cases were not charged in the period where the targets were in effect.

They include a woman whose rapist "confessed" to assaulting her in a Facebook message.

The target, first reported by the Law Society Gazette, goes beyond the code for crown prosecutors, which states there must be a “realistic prospect of conviction” based on the available evidence and prospective defences.

The CPS says the “level of ambition” targets were dropped in April 2018, but documents seen by The Independent show they were still being used by HM CPS Inspectorate in May this year.

The watchdog reprimanded CPS divisions including Wales, London and the West Midlands after they failed to reach the target, even where the number of convictions had increased.

The CPS did not make the “levels of ambition” public in its own publications, while repeatedly rebuffing allegations of a change in practice.

Ms Waxman raised concerns that the targets could have caused a “culture change” that caused prosecutors to take forward cases they believed had a higher chance of conviction.

She said that police forces having more files returned by the CPS may have started “pre-empting” its decisions and sending on fewer cases, speeding up the decline in prosecutions.

Between 2015-16 and 2018-19, the proportion of reported rapes prosecuted fell from 7 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

But while charges dropped in real terms from 3,910 to 1,758 in the period, the conviction rate rose from 58 per cent to 63 per cent.

Bonny Turner waived her right to lifetime anonymity to speak out after the CPS refused to prosecute her case (Frantzesco Kangaris)

An alliance of women’s groups has already launched legal action against the CPS over its handling of rape cases, while separate reviews by the government and CPS are also underway.

The End Violence Against Women Coalition accused prosecutors of “cherry picking” cases that are seen as the strongest following a covert change in policy.

Campaigns manager Rebecca Hitchen said the exposure of “levels of ambition” supported its claims.

“Performance targets linked to conviction rates will result in CPS prosecutors charging ‘stronger’ cases and dropping ‘weaker’ ones in order to make itself look better,” she added. “This is why the numbers of rape cases reaching trial has plummeted and why we are judicial reviewing the CPS.”

Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said the targets had been “hidden” and called them “yet more proof of CPS responsibility for failing rape victims and contributing to a climate of impunity”.

Baroness Newlove, the former Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, said the revelation would further damage confidence among survivors.

“The whole criminal justice system is falling apart,” she added, following statistics showing court trials at a record low.

Shami Chakrabarti, Labour’s shadow attorney general, called it a “very serious scandal”.

“The test has to be whether it is more likely than not that you can get a conviction,” she told BBC Newsnight. “We’ve got to understand that yes, rape cases are some of the hardest, but they’re also some of the most serious in criminal law. After murder, what could be more serious than a rape? The secrecy of these targets is a scandal in itself.”

Ms Waxman said the target was among a “perfect storm” of factors that could be driving the fall in prosecutions, including demands for victims’ phones and personal records.

Protesters dumped documents representing rape victims’ phone data outside the CPS’s offices amid warnings the demands were hampering cases ( Sisters Uncut ) (Sisters Uncut)

She has called for the CPS to introduce training on the effects of trauma to prevent inconsistencies in victims’ accounts being considered a fatal flaw in evidence.

“I am very concerned that prosecutors currently lack the skills needed to recognise the impact of trauma, and this is preventing prosecutors from progressing cases,” Ms Waxman said.

The CPS said “levels of ambition” were intended to track the outcomes of cases involving vulnerable victims, but alternative forms of monitoring are now used and performance measures were being used.

“We have not changed our policy on charging rape, or any other sexual crime,” a spokesperson added. “Whenever the legal test is met, our dedicated prosecutors will bring charges at the most serious level they can, no matter how challenging the case.

“Every decision is, and always has been, taken in the same way, following the code for crown prosecutors. No individual charging decision is influenced by any factor other than the merits of the case.”

It said the growing gap between the number of rapes recorded and prosecuted was a concern and said it would implement recommendations made by the government’s review of rape cases.