THE Public Prosecution Service (PPS) took an average of eight months to make a decision about prosecuting in cases involving sexual offences, according to new figures.
Statistics released yesterday reveal in 2018/19, it took 256 calendar days for indictable prosecution decisions to be made for all sexual offences in the Crown Court. It marks an increase from the previous year when it took 204 days.
It also took 226 calendar days before a prosecution decision was made in relation to rape offences in 2018/19, a fall from 240 in the previous year.
Figures also show prosecution rates for rape and sexual offences in Northern Ireland have fallen over the past four years.
In its bulletin of statistics related to sexual offences committed in the north since 2015, the PPS said the overall prosecution rate for sexual offences has dropped from 35.8 per cent in 2015/16 to 27.4 per cent in 2018/19.
Prosecution rates in cases involving rape fell from 26.1 per cent to 15.4 per cent, while the rate for an offence of rape dropped from 19.6 per cent to 11.3 per cent.
However, figures for rape and sexual offences prosecutions has risen slightly over the past year, from 9.2 per cent to 11.3 per cent.
More people are also contacting police to report sexual offences, including rape, with an increase in cases being proceeded to prosecution.
Over the past four years, there has been an increase of more than a third in files received by the PPS, up from 1,182 to 1,594.
During the same period, there was also a 70.4 per cent rise in files received by the PPS involving an offence of rape, up from 358 to 610.
However, over the past year there has been a 7.6 per cent increase in files sent to the PPS involving a sexual offence, with just under two fifths involving an offence of rape.
During 2018/19, the files received included a total of 1,685 suspects, 637 were charged or reported for rape.
Ciaran McQuillan, head of the PPS serious crime unit, said: "The prosecution of sexual offences remains a significant and complex challenge for all criminal justice partners.
"While there is much more work to be done to achieve the change required across the system, it is heartening to note that many findings contained in this bulletin offer reasons to be positive.
"Looking broadly, there has been an increase in the level of cases which are able to proceed to prosecution and we can see an improved conviction rate for sexual offences at both Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court level.
"The rising number of files being reported to us by police - for example, there are 70 per cent more rape files being received since 2015/16 - can also be interpreted as a sign that victims are feeling confident in coming forward to report their distressing experiences."
