The government have announced new technology and training will be provided to help courts with rape trials. Trials will be held in London, Leeds and Newcastle. This follows calls from earlier this years to have specialised rape courts to help clear the large backlog of cases.
This pilot scheme will aim to cut down on the time taken for these cases by training court staff, police and prosecutors in specialist trauma training in order to tailor towards providing greater care during rape trials, and preceding them.
All the trial crown courts will also be upgraded to show witness cross-examinations that have been pre-recorded.
Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab said he held no control over forcing some courts to only take serious sexual offence cases. However, he did state the trial courtrooms in London, Leeds and Newcastle:
“Will be dedicated in prioritising those rape cases. We’re specifically targeting areas where there are high volumes of rape and other sexual violence cases coming through, and they need those dedicated courtrooms or otherwise the backlog will grow.”
A government report earlier this year showed how rape victims were waiting 706 days on average to go to court. The government have blamed this backlog on delays caused by the pandemic.
This report also showed that in 2021 there were 67,125 rapes recorded by police in England and Wales and yet only 1,557 prosecutions. This has led to concerns many victims will simply not take their cases forward in future.
