Rape reported every hour in London, BBC investigation shows

A rape offence is reported every hour in London, according to data obtained by the BBC.

More than 8,800 rape incidents were reported to the Metropolitan Police in 2023 – an average of 24 a day.

Charities have called the findings “horrifying” but say the true extent of sexual offending will be far higher.

The Met says it remains determined to tackle sexual violence, is “striving to do better” and that the number of rape charges has more than doubled since 2022.

The data – obtained via Freedom of Information requests to the Met and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – also shows a further 11,000 reports of other sexual crimes were reported to the force last year, with almost a quarter of all reported crimes from people aged under 18.

The figures represent the number of reports issued from 2018 to 2023, but do not necessarily mean all the crimes happened within that time period.

For example, if someone reported historical sexual abuse in 2023, that would be filed as a 2023 report.

There were two offence datasets: one on reported rape only, and another comprising sexual assault, assault by penetration and attempted rape offences.

From 2018 to 2023, of all these crimes, total reported incidents increased by 14% to almost 20,000.

To put this into context, a report of sexual violence or rape was made to the Met on average every 26 and a half minutes.

London-based Rape Crisis centres, Solace and Nia have called the findings “horrifying” adding that it “clear urgent change is needed”.

Amy has waived her right to anonymity.

She says she handed the police a phone with evidence and said the Met returned it after six months.

She said: “I found out that they didn’t take any of the evidence off it so they called me again to ask for my phone back to get that evidence but my phone broke so effectively, from that moment on, I knew that the case was going to be dropped because literally all of the evidence was gone.

“That moment was a terrible moment in time and put me into absolute paralysis but it was the police that put me on suicide watch.

“Victims already feel that everything is the victim’s fault but the police will definitely ensure that you feel that way.”

Tirion Havard, professor of gender abuse and policy at London South Bank University, said the figures were “depressing” both because of the extent of the offending and also in that it was “depressing that I’m not surprised”.

Prof Havard added the actual problem was far worse than the figures released by the Met indicate.

“It’s the tip of the iceberg. This is almost best-case scenario.”

Rape Crisis says only one in six women who are raped report the crime – that figure is one in five for male victims – while only one in four will report other types of sexual assault.

Additionally, data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in the year ending in March 2022 almost 800,000 females aged 16 and over reported that they were raped or sexually assaulted every year in the UK – that’s about one in 30. This figure was 275,000 for male victims.

Nearly a quarter of all reported victims were 17 or younger. This makes it the second-largest age bracket, behind 18 to 29 years old.

According to the data, more than 4,300 children reported being a victim of rape or sexual assault to the Met in 2023, equating to a report of sexual abuse about every two hours.

Kellie Ann Fitzgerald, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) assistant director for London and the South East, said child sexual offences in London “remain close to record levels”.

She also noted the true extent of offending was likely to be much higher.

Ms Fitzgerald believes “it is crucial that the new government overhauls the criminal justice system” to tackle crime backlogs and to fast-track cases involving children.

Charges for sexual crimes have risen significantly in recent years.

There were 818 charges in 2018, falling to 800 the following year but have steadily risen since then to 1,419 in 2023.

However these figures represent only a small fraction of complaints made.

While the data shows an increase in the number of people reporting such crimes, and an increase in charges, the charity Rape Crisis UK believes “urgent” change is needed.

“We want to see a robust criminal justice system that victims and survivors and the wider public can have faith in.”

While the charity acknowledged commitments by the Met and CPS to tackle sexual violence, it said “we are yet to see this impact”.

In response to the criticism, the Met told the BBC it was “determined to tackle sexual violence and our teams have transformed the way we investigate rape and sexual offences”.

In 2023, the figure of 1,419 charges made compares to 10,991 reports of rape in London, although the number of prosecutions does not represent the number of alleged crimes committed in a given year. Some of the prosecutions will be from cases reported in 2022 or earlier.

In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says it can only work on cases sent to it by the police.

The data obtained from the CPS shows the number of prosecutions and convictions for “rape-flagged cases and cases where the principal offence was sexual offences” from January 2018 to December 2022.

Across this five-year span the CPS recorded 1,527 prosecutions and 925 convictions – a conviction rate of 60.6%.

A spokesperson for the CPS said “more must be done to drive up the overall number of cases charged”.

They added that this was why the CPS was “working closely with the police from the earliest stage of an investigation to build strong cases from the outset”.

The conviction rate for rape “seriously undermines survivors’ confidence in the criminal justice system”, according to Rape Crisis.

“Survivors need to be believed and supported; they need to trust that the system will fight for justice.”

As of January this year, there were 3,355 rape cases awaiting trial in England and Wales, with an average wait time for defendants on bail of 358 days.

But tackling these crimes cannot be done by the police alone, says Cdr Kevin Southworth, lead for public protection at the Met Police.

“Listening to those with lived experience, and working together with charities and partners across the criminal justice system, we’re working to ensure that all victims and survivors get the justice they deserve,” he told BBC London.

Reporting a sexual crime can be extremely traumatic and any legal proceedings add extra turmoil, says Prof Havard.

She believes the investigation procedures and cross-examinations into rape cases leave women feeling “virtually strip searched”.

“There’s a double victimisation. First of all, she’s raped and then she’s blamed for that rape. Why would anybody want to put themselves through that?”

Combine this with entrenched societal stereotypes and victims feel helpless, she says.

It’s not just faith in the system. It’s faith in the Metropolitan Police too, says Prof Havard.

In response, the CPS said it was improving its service to victims and that complainants could pre-record their cross-examination by the defence and so not have to give evidence in front of a jury.

In recent years, London has witnessed a number of Met officers convicted of sexual offences, the most high profile of which was the rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by off-duty constable Wayne Couzens.

On the third anniversary of the attack, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it would “take years” to repair damage to trust in the police.

Since then, there have been further high profile cases involving Met officers.

In February of last year, David Carrick admitted to dozens of rapes and sexual offences against 12 women.

Meanwhile in May, another former police officer, Cliff Mitchell, was jailed for 10 counts of rape, including three of raping a child under the age of 13.

Det Ch Supt Angela Craggs said: “We know reporting a sexual offence to police can be difficult and we have worked hard in recent years to improve and support those who take this step.

“Significant progress has been made in relation to digital forensics, including obtaining evidence from mobile devices when someone reports an offence, to ensure this is as unobtrusive an experience as possible.

“In most cases we try and ensure a mobile device is returned within 24 hours and ensure our evidence gathering is targeted to extract only relevant information.

“We have also invested £11m in our technology and staff to speed us this process and minimise the impact on victims.

“We are always striving to do better and know that listening to and understanding the experiences of those who report sexual offences to us is a key part of this process.”