Damning figures reveal how few reported rapes in Croydon end in convictions

By lucy buckland lucy.buckland@essnmedia.co.uk

Lucy Buckland

lucy.buckland@essnmedia.co.uk

ONLY 13 per cent of all reported rapes in Croydon end up with a criminal conviction, damning new figures reveal.

Statistics also show charges were only brought against 25 per cent of alleged attackers.

But the figures obtained by the Advertiser through a Freedom of Information request show Croydon police are pushing for a prosecution in more than half of all reported cases – a vast improvement on previous years.

From May last year to June this year Croydon police received 167 reports of rape, and submitted 94 of those cases to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

But only 21 of them ended up with the person who was accused of the attack getting a criminal record.

After seeing the figures, Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the Croydon Rape Crisis Centre, said: "It's a bit damning but the police have improved incredibly in the way they deal with rape cases and rape survivors."

Last year the Advertiser revealed that only 16 per cent of reported rapes in Croydon were ending up in a conviction.

Ms Traynor said: "The fact more cases are being passed to the CPS to consider is very welcoming but these figures are still pretty bleak.

"The police have improved dramatically in the way they handle rape, they have really learnt lessons from previous high profile cases such as (cab driver) John Worboys (who was convicted of a series of rapes last year).

"We have come a long way from a desk sergeant being given a stint on the sexual offences unit. Now rape is taken more seriously in the police force."

Ms Traynor believes the only way to improve the number of rapists being brought to justice is to educate the public.

She explained: "Juries don't understand rape and more people are getting acquitted because people think rape is a stranger jumping out of a bush.

"But it can be your uncle, your teacher, a person you met on the internet.

"People on juries always have that doubt, because they read about the very small amount of false allegations, they are always thinking there could be that element of untruth."

The Advertiser asked Croydon police for an interview with a senior officer from the Operation Sapphire rape investigation team, but this request was declined.

A statement from the Met Police said that major improvements have been made in the way it deals with rape victims.

The statement read: "Not all victims of sexual offences desire a criminal justice outcome, nor is it possible to secure the level of evidence required for many cases to proceed to court.

"From 2010 and 2011, victim satisfaction with how they were treated by officers will form a key performance target.

"We have learned lessons from the John Worboys case and made a number of changes to the way we investigate allegations of rape and sexual assault."