Panel told 2% of Lancashire rape complaints ended in conviction in 2022

Lancashire Police say an average of three sexual assault complaints are made each day

Just two per cent of rape and serious sexual assault complaints made across a county last year led to convictions, councillors have been told.

Lancashire's Police and Crime Panel heard only 30 out of a yearly average of 1,500 complaints had resulted in convictions in 2022.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Pratt said court process delays had caused "a lot of the problem".

The force has created three new teams to improve conviction rates, he added.

Efforts were under way to up the county's conviction rate, he added.

Mr Pratt told the panel, which is made up of councillors from each local authority in Lancashire, about 80 people went on trial for rape in 2022, the Local Democracy Reporting Service. said.

But only 30 were convicted, which was a "pretty small number percentage wise", he added.

'Horrible point'

Mr Pratt said an average of 1,500 people a year made rape or sexual assault complaints in the county, amounting to more than three people a day.

Many cases were "very complex" and "keeping the witnesses and the victims up to speed is the essence of getting those cases to trial," he said.

He said efforts to improve were "a slow burn" but he was hopeful that progress would be made.

Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden also told the panel "tailored support is so very, very necessary" to help those at a "very, very horrible point in their life".

He added: "It's whether they want to go through a potential two-year trial, potentially with their existing partner."

"It is on policing, the criminal justice system, the support services to continuously get better at supporting victims and removing those barriers."

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