Conviction rates for rapists fall

The BBC reports how the rate of reported rapes has risen, but the number of convictions has not kept pace.

Although there have been some advances in recent years in the way in which sexual crimes are evidenced, these figures are obviously a matter of concern. One possibility is that a great many sexual crimes are now being reported by adults, who were abused as children. Some of these result in convictions, but a great many do not. At the same time, one does need to ask how many of the initial complaints are pursued by the victim, and how many result in different types of action, for instance a child being taken into care. One of the biggest problems must be the lack of corroborative evidence, although we are aware of prosecutions where there is only one prosecution witness, the victim which result in convictions.