Rapes recorded by police have hit a high – and contributed to a record 6.5million crime reports in total for England and Wales.
After sexual offences fell in the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics saw ‘substantial increases’.
‘This huge increase in sexual violence, in particular rape, reported to the police is seriously alarming and a stark reminder that the government needs to get a grip on staggeringly low conviction rates and horrendous court delays,’ said Diana Fawcett, of Victim Support. ‘Things simply can’t go on like this – women deserve better.’
The 196,889 sex offences in the year to June were up 20 per cent year-on -year. Rapes reports have nearly doubled in six years, to a high of 70,600, as domestic abuse cases rose to 912,181.
They made up part of 6.5million total crimes recorded in the period – the most since records began in 2002, and up 12 per cent on a year before.