Commissioner ‘deeply concerned’ by latest CPS statistics on domestic abuse

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The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, has expressed deep concern that fewer perpetrators of domestic abuse are being held accountable for their actions.

In response to the latest Crown Prosecution Service statistics, she said:

“I am deeply concerned to see that fewer perpetrators of domestic abuse are being held accountable for their actions, with the number of convictions for these offences falling by almost 15 per cent in the last year. The past year has been an incredibly difficult time for many victims of domestic abuse across England and Wales, with calls to helplines remaining significantly higher than they were before the pandemic. Given the welcome increase in referrals from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service in the last quarter, it is disappointing to see that charges have fallen by 18 per cent and prosecutions by 9 per cent.

“In August 2020, along with the Victims’ Commissioner, I called on the Government to take urgent action on the fall in prosecution rates for domestic abuse cases. I am disappointed to see that in this time, little progress has been made by the criminal justice system on holding perpetrators to account. The public interest on this matter has increased substantially, with the public looking to the criminal justice system to take firm action on perpetrators of domestic abuse. For far too long, victims have failed to see their perpetrators brought to justice. It is time to take action.

“It is positive to see that the re-opening of Crown Courts across the country has led to an improvement in the number of rape convictions in the last year. I welcome the work carried by the Government and criminal justice agencies as part of the End to End Rape Review to drive improvements in this area and will be closely following plans for the implementation of its recommendations. We must reverse the falling outcomes of the past few years as a matter of urgency.”

For more information on how we can help you arrange protection against domestic violence, please read our news article ‘A guide to protection against domestic violence’.

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