Rape suspects are ‘taking advantage’ of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty, hoping frustrated victims will drop out, the attorney general has said

Rape suspects are ‘taking advantage’ of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty in the hope that frustrated victims will drop out, Britain’s attorney general has said.

Stephen Parkinson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, suggested the defendants were gaming the system to calculate that victims who have been waiting years for justice could stand down as trials are now postponed until the end of 2027.

The length of time it takes police to investigate crimes and bring them to trial is ‘excessive’, the Director of Public Prosecutions has said.

He explained that 10 per cent of sexual crime victims withdraw their support after a case is filed, with many more withdrawing their support during lengthy police investigations.

‘Usually, it can take two years for a rape case to be investigated and another two years for a case to be filed,’ he said.

‘I think this is very ugly. ‘We are seeing too many victims, often women, withdrawing from co-operation because of the delay and because they feel they are not being adequately supported.’

He told the Sunday Times that the defendants had ‘taken advantage’ of the delays by pleading not guilty because they ‘hoped something would come to light’ that would cause the case to collapse.

Britain’s chief prosecutor said rape suspects were ‘taking advantage’ of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty in the hope that frustrated victims would drop out (file image)

In a bid to stop this, all rape victims will now be offered a liaison officer to help them carry out their court proceedings.

So far, CPS has hired 40 liaisons nationwide.

He said: ‘(The victims) will be given the opportunity to meet with the prosecution team.

‘We can guide them through the process. ‘They can call whenever they want.’

The CPS is also trying to reduce delays by expanding the pool of prosecutors who specialize in serious sex crimes and presenting defendants with all the evidence against them at much earlier stages of trials.

Mr Parkinson also supports greater funding for defense lawyers through legal aid so defendants can understand the weight of the evidence against them and encourages them to plead guilty at the first hearing to be eligible for reduced sentences.

Nationwide, the record backlog of cases has risen to 71,000 from 38,000 before the coronavirus pandemic.

A survey carried out by the Government’s independent rape adviser last week found that only a tenth of rape and sexual assault victims said they would re-report crimes committed against them.

Stephen Parkinson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, suggested the defendants had gamed the system which calculated that victims who had been waiting years for justice could stand down as trials are now adjourned until late 2027 (file image)

In an interview marking his first year in office, the 67-year-old DPP admitted that historically there had been insufficient emphasis on the testimonies of women who made harassment allegations against powerful men such as the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. multiple sex attacks.

He said: ‘In the past, a lot of time was spent analyzing what the victim said.

‘The center of gravity seemed to be around the victim’s account. ‘The change we made was definitely to focus on the suspect.’

But Mr Parkinson refused to say whether he regretted not prosecuting Al Fayed before his death last year.

He said he could not comment during ongoing police investigations into people who may have carried out the abuse.

Scotland Yard investigated 21 allegations against Egyptian businessman from 2005 to 2023; these included two cases going to the CPS for a charging decision.

Prosecutors concluded there was not enough evidence to go to trial.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Parkinson said he had been asked to consider charges related to assisted suicide in “five or six cases” last year, but decided not to press charges.

He refused to say whether the CPS supported a private member’s bill to decriminalize assisted dying.

He said: ‘What I would say about the common law is that it requires the personal judgment of the DPP.

‘I’m not a robot. ‘I’ve brought an element of compassion into my decisions and I think that’s right.’