2009 press releases

5th Nov: Local MP calls for action as only 4% of rape claims in Sussex end in conviction

Lewes MP Norman Baker has called on the government to act after figures unveiled by the Lib Dems showed that in the past ten years, just one in twenty-five cases in which an recorded allegation of rape has been recorded in Sussex have resulted in a conviction.

The figures, unveiled in an answer to a Parliamentary Question, show that while there have been almost 3,000 instances of a rape being reported to Sussex Police since 1998, less than 500 (or 27%) of these have resulted in criminal proceedings being brought, and only 107 - just 3.6% - have led to a conviction for rape. Between 1998 and 2006, there were less than ten convictions on average annually.

Local MP Norman Baker has called for the government to give greater funding to centres that provide medical care and counselling to the victims of sexual assault. The national conviction rate in the UK - 5.1% - is ranked as the worst in Europe.

Norman Baker commented:

"It is appalling that just one in twenty-five recorded rapes result in a conviction in Sussex, and that so few recorded cases even reach the courts.

"It is particularly worrying that the average conviction rate in Sussex over the past ten years, at 3.6%, is worse than the national rate of 5%, especially when the UK has one of the lowest conviction rates in Europe."

"Victims of sexual violence need the help provided by crisis and support centres. The government must increase the amount of funding available to these centres as a matter of urgency. Areas such as Sussex also require more specialised police, prosecutors, and forensic nurses to help solve these problems."

Rape reports, prosecutions and convictions by year 1998 to 2007

Year	No of rape convictions	No of cases in which proceedings were brought	Guilty verdicts in those cases (%)	No of recorded rapes
1998	11	41	27	110
1999	8	30	27	198
2000	7	39	18	237
2001	6	38	16	215
2002	10	47	21	327
2003	17	33	53	276
2004	10	47	21	414
2005	7	59	12	399
2006	10	52	19	413
2007	21	38	55	293
Total	107	424	26.9	2882

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