England, Wales take new measures to tackle backlog in sexual offense cases
“Prosecution rates for rape remain shamefully low, with many victims waiting years for justice,” United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said. (Photo from Shutterstock)
In the next two years, every Crown Court in England and Wales will have at least one courtroom that will specifically handle sexual offense cases.
As part of an effort to reduce long delays that keep survivors waiting months or even years for their trials, the government announced Monday that it will spend about $30.7 million (or about 23 million pounds) on the new courtrooms, which will be introduced across all 84 Crown Court buildings, according to a story from Courthouse News Service.
The courtrooms will have private entrances and waiting areas for survivors, as well as facilities for providing evidence and watching proceedings remotely, Courthouse News Service reports. Survivors will have a single point of contact through a pilot program, and court staff will receive trauma-informed training.
Rape and serious sexual offense trials will receive priority and fixed trial dates, Courthouse News Service also reports. At the end of March, about 19% of 80,061 open cases involved sexual offenses. The government also noted that last year, it took an average of 424 days to resolve rape cases once they reached the Crown Court.
“Prosecution rates for rape remain shamefully low, with many victims waiting years for justice,” United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, according to Courthouse News Service.
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