Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of unsuccessful Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions have been because of victim issues in each of the last seven financial years.

The table below shows the proportion of unsuccessful prosecutions due to victim issues in each of the last seven years. The data for 2013-14 is not directly comparable with previous years.

Victim reasons or issues are defined as non-attendance, retraction or the evidence of the victim does not support the case or come up to proof.

The CPS is continually striving to improve the quality of data used in both internal and external reports. The recording of the reasons for unsuccessful outcomes was changed in April 2013 leading to enhanced recording of victim issues. It is hoped that this may more accurately reflect the proportion of unsuccessful cases due to victim issues.

Previously victim reasons may have been recorded as ‘essential legal element missing' or ‘unreliable witnesses'. Following a change to clarify the definitions in 2013-14, The CPS has seen a fall in these reasons (from 13.7% to 4.0% and 2.2% to 1.4% respectively). In parallel there has been a rise in recording, of unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues, with the figure rising from 15.8% to 18.8% of all unsuccessful outcomes, of which 8.1% was due to victim retraction.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System