FEWER than 10 people were convicted of rape in Cumbria last year despite hundreds of new allegations being recorded by police, according to new data.

The data, from the Ministry of Justice, shows 16 rape cases were heard in court in 2021 following Cumbria Constabulary investigations, with seven resulting in convictions – up from six in 2019, before the pandemic.

But separate data from the Home Office show that 471 alleged rape cases were recorded by the force in 2021, meaning only a fraction are likely to lead to a conviction.

Of these, 349 investigations were concluded, yet only 0.9 per cent led to a charge or summons.

Some 19 per cent of cases were dropped due to evidential difficulties, despite the support of the victim and a suspect being identified, while a further 66 per cent were dropped because the victim did not support further action.

No suspect was identified in seven per cent of cases.

Across England and Wales, just two per cent of 42,203 concluded investigations led to a prosecution.

This suggests victims are rarely seeing justice done.

The Government announced a new pilot court scheme last week in a bid to increase low prosecution and conviction rates across England and Wales.

The initiative means prosecutors, police officers and other staff at pilot courts in Newcastle, Leeds and Snaresbrook in London will receive specialist trauma training, with any conclusions learned rolled out across the country to increase the volume and speed of rape cases going through the system.

Across England and Wales, there were 895 rape convictions compared to 67,125 new cases.

Justice secretary Dominic Raab said the pilot courts, which are due to be operational in October, will focus on improving support for victims.

Mr Raab added: "We’re also rolling out pre-recorded evidence faster, recruiting 1,000 sexual violence advisors, developing a 24/7 helpline and improving collaboration between police and prosecutors to ensure victims get the justice they deserve.”

But Jayne Butler, chief executive of Rape Crisis, said enough is not known about how the specialist courts will work and insisted a "proper consultation with specialist sexual violence support services" is needed.

Ms Butler also highlighted how low prosecution rates have ‘effectively decriminalised’ rape and discouraged victims from coming forward and reporting crimes: "The vast majority of victims and survivors seeking criminal justice are being hugely let down by the system."

A CPS spokesperson said: “We are determined to drive up the number of rape cases going to court in Cumbria and are working hard with police to drive lasting change in our approach to these cases. 

“Not every complaint of rape is referred to the CPS for a charging decision.

"In 2021 we received 24 cases where there was sufficient evidence to make a legal decision, and of these 14 were charged (58.3 per cent) as they satisfied our legal test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

“We want to see more cases referred to us and are taking part in a pilot to offer police early advice on cases from the outset so together we can add value to investigations and build strong cases which can pass swiftly through the system.

“We are now seeing an improvement in referrals as a result of the pilot."

Cumbria Constabulary was approached for a comment.

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