Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Oliver Heald and Lord Evans of Rainow(10 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)
1. What steps the Crown Prosecution Service has taken to improve the conviction rate for rape since 2010.
The Solicitor-General (Oliver Heald)
In the past three years, the conviction rate for rape has continued to increase steadily. In the calendar year 2010, the conviction rate was 59.1%; it then went to 61% and then to 64.3%, which reflects the commitment of the Crown Prosecution Service to robust prosecution of rape offences.
Graham Evans
Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that part of the reason for the increase in conviction rates is the training of specialist prosecutors by the CPS?
The Solicitor-General
Yes, my hon. Friend makes an important point. The Director of Public Prosecutions has led the training of specialist CPS rape prosecutors, 800 of whom have now been trained, and they have done a wide range of units to ensure that they are fully aware of all the ways that it is necessary to prosecute such cases.