Fewer crimes lead to charge in West Midlands

Figures from the Home Office show there were 371,684 crimes reported to West Midlands Police in the year to September 2022 – 8,910 (2.4 per cent) of which led to a charge or summons.

This was down from 3.1 per cent in the year to September 2021.

Of the broader types of crime, possession of weapons offences had the highest prosecution rate in West Midlands, with 10.9 per cent of crimes leading to a charge or summons.

Meanwhile sexual offences had the lowest, at just 1.6 per cent.

Across England and Wales, sexual offences have been in the spotlight due to low prosecution rates and a surge in the number of offences recorded.

Rape has the lowest charge rate across all crimes, with just 1.6 per cent of 70,633 offences recorded by police leading to prosecution across the two countries in the year to September 2022.

More than 40 per cent of rape investigations were closed because the victim did not support further police action.

In West Midlands, the charge rate for all sexual offences has fallen from 1.8 per cent in the year to September 2021.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Like the public, we hold an expectation that those committing crime in the West Midlands are bought to justice wherever possible.

"We investigate a wide range of crime reports and our officers are committed to following the trail of evidence in all cases they examine.

"However, if an investigation finds no witnesses, CCTV or forensic evidence then the chances of identifying offenders is vastly reduced.

"As a force we now look at ‘outcomes’ to crime reports and not rates of charges or summons.

"A positive outcome for a young offender may now be a placement on a Prince’s Trust course and mentoring rather than criminalising them. Such outcomes are used when it’s believed to be the best way of reducing crime and influencing an offender’s behaviour.

"In relation to sexual offences, we know that rape detection rates are low, but we continue to do all we can to take action that makes women and girls safer, and bring perpetrators to justice.

"We are continuing to strive to give victims confidence to come forward in the knowledge we’ll pursue prosecution action every time we can."

Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said rape victims are being “systematically let down by this government, with action against rapists totally failing to keep up with record levels of reporting”.

She urged: “Victims of these hideous crimes need and deserve the best possible support.”

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of charity Victim Support, said: “This huge rise in recorded sexual offences comes as the percentage of cases seeing justice has plummeted to an abysmal new low.

“Charges for rape and sexual offences have been falling sharply for the past six years – the system is in crisis,” she added.

For all types of crime, the figures show just 5.5 per cent of offences in England and Wales resulted in a charge or summons in the year to September 2022.

This was down from six per cent a year before – although this excludes data from Greater Manchester Police because of problems the force had recording crime at that time.

The rate of prosecutions has generally declined over the years and is now less than half the percentage in the year to September 2015 (14 per cent).

Minister for Policing, Crime and Fire Chris Philp pointed to reductions in a number of different types of crime, such as burglaries, serious violence and murder.

But he said "there is much more to do" to protect women and girls.

He added: “With huge efforts under way across the criminal justice system, we are now starting to see signs of improvement in the number of charges and prosecutions.”