U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Question of Evidence? Investigating and Prosecuting Rape in the 1990s

NCJ Number
180356
Author(s)
Jessica Harris; Sharon Grace
Date Published
1999
Length
83 pages
Annotation
This booklet examines the low rate of conviction for rape in England and Wales and the characteristics of those cases that reached conviction and those that did not.
Abstract
One-quarter of recorded rape cases in England and Wales reached conviction in 1985, while only one-tenth did so in 1996. The nature of recorded rape cases has changed over the years. A far higher proportion now involves assailants known to the complainant (often including date rapes). These cases raise evidential difficulties and this has implications for the way they are dealt with by the criminal justice system. The booklet describes the processing of rape cases by the police; Crown Prosecution Service advice and decision making; the progress of rape cases through the courts; and practitioners' views of the court process. The report contains 13 recommendations, including further research into the ways cases are dealt with and complainants treated in the early stages of the process and improved standards of prosecution. Notes, figures, tables, bibliography, appendixes, references

Downloads

No download available

Availability