PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Offences against Children (14 October 2014)
Question Asked
Asked by:
Emily Thornberry (Labour)
Answer
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the number of cases of child abuse, referred for a pre-charge decision or prosecuted, by way of a monitoring flag.
The CPS definition of child abuse covers any case where the victim was under 18 years of age at the time of the offence and includes physical, emotional and sexual criminal offences, as well as neglect of a child and non-recent child abuse where the victim is now an adult. It The data is accurate only to the extent that the flag has been correctly applied.
During each of the last eight years the number of pre-charge decisions made, against suspects alleged to have committed offences involving child abuse, is as follows:
| Pre-Charge Decisions |
2006-2007 | 11,485 |
2007-2008 | 11,542 |
2008-2009 | 11,094 |
2009-2010 | 12,691 |
2010-2011 | 13,015 |
2011-2012 | 11,610 |
2012-2013 | 9,379 |
2013-2014 | 11,187 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System
In the same period, the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted, in cases flagged as child abuse is as follows:
| Total Prosecuted | Convictions | % Convictions |
2006-2007 | 7,337 | 5,216 | 71.1% |
2007-2008 | 7,587 | 5,499 | 72.5% |
2008-2009 | 7,381 | 5,479 | 74.2% |
2009-2010 | 8,079 | 6,043 | 74.8% |
2010-2011 | 9,235 | 6,855 | 74.2% |
2011-2012 | 8,581 | 6,444 | 75.1% |
2012-2013 | 7,558 | 5,755 | 76.1% |
2013-2014 | 7,998 | 6,096 | 76.2% |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System
This information is available within the CPS’s annual ‘Violence against Women and Girls Report 2013-14’.
Answered by:
Sir Robert Buckland (Conservative)
17 October 2014
Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.