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The Prosecution of Sexual Offences

The Prosecution of Sexual Offences. Information taken from a Crown Office and Procurator Service media briefing published in June 2011. Review of sexual offences. The most recent Crown Office statistics pre-date recent developments to improve the prosecution of sexual offences.

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The Prosecution of Sexual Offences

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  1. The Prosecution of Sexual Offences Information taken from a Crown Office and Procurator Service media briefing published in June 2011

  2. Review of sexual offences The most recent Crown Office statistics pre-date recent developments to improve the prosecution of sexual offences. In 2006, the Lord Advocate launched a Review of Sexual Offences which resulted in 50 recommendations to improve the prosecution of rape and other sexual crimes.

  3. National Sexual Crimes Unit • The National Sexual Crimes Unit was established in May 2009 and leads the prosecution of the most serious sexual offences, including rape, child sexual abuse, and sexually motivated murder • The Unit is based at the Crown Office in Edinburgh and comprises a team of specialist Crown Counsel and a dedicated team of specialist Procurators Fiscal. The Unit direct these criminal investigations from the earliest stages, providing advice and expertise to Procurators Fiscal

  4. Conviction rates Overall there is a high conviction rate for sexual offences prosecuted in courts in Scotland with the latest Government statistics showing that overall 78% of accused persons prosecuted for crimes of indecency in court are convicted. Of those prosecuted for rape or attempted rape, 46% are convicted.

  5. Rape statisticsApril 2008 – March 2009 • The Procurator Fiscal received 413 reports from police, containing 528 charges of rape • There was sufficient evidence to indict the accused for rape in 179 of these charges • 32% of indicted charges resulted in a conviction • These figures predate the inception of the National Sexual Crimes Unit.

  6. Reported rape charges that were not indicted • In 49% of charges, it was not possible to proceed for evidential reasons – either due to insufficient evidence (40%) or the quality of the evidence (9%) • In 9% of charges, further action was taken to prosecute on other charges in the report (1%) or the conduct was included in another charge (6%), or the case was referred to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (2%) • In 4% of charges, Crown Counsel decided to discontinue proceedings due to the health of the victim or her view as to the continuation of proceedings.

  7. Of the 821 rapes reported to the police in 2008/2009, only 528 (64%) were reported to the Procurator Fiscal for possible prosecution • There are no available figures to show the reasons for the other cases not being reported to the Procurator Fiscal. They include the police being satisfied after investigation that there was no crime committed; the suspect not being traced; there being clearly insufficient evidence or the victim being unwilling to take part in the investigation process

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