Can judges end UK's rape case backlog?

Judges are to prioritise long-delayed rape cases in a bid to clear the backlog of trials within the next five months. 

The "unprecedented move" to "surge" resources into delayed cases is intended to "end the anguish of victims in a backlogs limbo", said the BBC. Many of the delays have been caused "by a combination of the pandemic, government cuts before it and a strike by barristers over pay".

As of January, a total of 3,355 rape cases were awaiting trial in England and Wales, of which about 6% were classed as "very old". Under the new plans, 181 trials sent to the Crown Court more than two years ago will begin by the end of July.

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What did the commentators say?

Announcing the push to clear old cases, Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, described the delays as a "serious stain" on the legal system. Although only a "small proportion" of  all rape cases ended up significantly delayed, he said, long waiting times were a "significant injustice because the system has recovered its capacity".

A 2023 report into the state of the justice system, titled Breaking Point, found that "every stage of the system gives us grave cause for concern when it comes to the impact on victims and survivors of rape". The report followed a warning in 2020 from the then victims' commissioner, Dame Vera Baird KC, that rape had effectively been decriminalised in England and Wales due to a "catastrophic" decline in prosecutions.

Although thousands of rape cases are awaiting trial, "this number is the thin end of the wedge when it comes to the number of victims out there", said the i news site. "Such a small number get anywhere near court."

Most rapes are never reported, and those that are rarely result in a prosecution. A total of 67,938 alleged rapes were recorded by police between October 2022 and September 2023. But "by the end of that 12-month period, charges had been brought in just 2.4% (1,631) of cases", said the charity Rape Crisis England & Wales.

Some criminals are "relying on crippling trial delays to evade justice", said The Independent. As delays have worsened, the proportion of early guilty pleas has "plummeted" over the past four years, as suspects "try to manipulate the system" to avoid conviction and imprisonment. 

Bar Council chair Sam Townend KC told the paper that suspects charged with rape had "become more aware that their day of reckoning is getting pushed back further and further and, because of the high rate of ineffective trials, perhaps may never come at all".  Victims and witnesses, he said, are becoming "ever more disillusioned or simply give up", risking "a complete collapse in public confidence in the system".

What next?

Once the oldest cases are cleared, judges will target the next oldest cohort of rape cases, in a bid to push down the average wait time. The current average in cases where the defendant is on bail is 358 days from start to completion in the Crown Court.

The fast-tracking plan comes after survey findings published last month by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) revealed that 64% of prosecutors approved to conduct rape and serious sexual assault cases would not reapply for the work, with many blaming high stress and poor pay.  

Acknowledging that the number of qualified barristers in rape cases was "in particularly short supply", Lord Justice Edis is calling for long-term investment in the justice system to "sustain that necessary supply of skilled people".