Almost 900 sexual offences committed by people on bail – as charities warn of ‘disastrous consequences of broken courts’

Published

6 months ago

May 17, 2024

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Almost 900 sexual offences were committed between 2020 and 2022 by people on bail, according to statistics from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

A Freedom of Information request by Sky News found the figure totalled 887 for the three years and had risen annually, with 184 offences committed in 2020, increasing to 326 in 2021 and 377 in 2022.

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Sky News was refused the data for 2023 ahead of broader crime statistics being published on Thursday morning, and has now been told to submit another FOI request to access the information – meaning at least 20 days until the figures are revealed.

However, the trend indicates the number of offences is likely to have tipped over the 1,000 mark for the four-year period.

Charities and legal professionals warned the numbers were a “disastrous consequence” of a “broken” court system, which is seeing those on bail facing record delays before their cases are heard, putting them “at risk of reoffending for extended periods”.

The statistics come after claims defendants deemed “lower risk” could be released on police bail without a court hearing as part of emergency measures triggered on Wednesday to tackle prison overcrowding – with hundreds of bail hearings being delayed in case the defendant is placed on remand but has no prison cell to go to.

An MoJ source told Sky News it would be a decision for the police if they chose to release someone, not an order from the department.

But with police cells being used to house prisoners in overcrowded areas – another emergency procedure triggered last week – there could be pressure to make room.

The chief executive of The Survivors Trust – a national organisation helping rape and sexual abuse support services – said people who had been attacked by those on bail felt “let down” by the government.

“There can be a lot of fear exactly around that happening,” Fay Maxted told Sky News. “Many, many survivors [of sexual offences and other crimes] report them because they want to protect others.

“They’re not driven by revenge or anything, but they are wanting to make things better and hoping to make the community a safer place.

“So it’s devastating to then find that actually the person that you made the report about is out and about and in the community.”

Ms Maxted laid much of the blame at the door of delays in the court system, leaving people on bail for longer, and “creating a lot of disastrous consequences”.

“People can be questioned and then released on bail, and it might be a year, it might be two years before they appear in court,” she said. “It’s really unacceptable. We’ve got a broken system at the moment.

“And I’m not always sure that everyone appreciates the impact of sexual violence and abuse – the potentially lifelong impact on someone’s health and well-being.”

The charity chief’s concerns were backed up by the Criminal Bar Association, who said the figures showed “a systemic failure” of government to fix court delays.

Analysis from the organisation used the average time for a rape trial with a bailed defendant to conclude after charge as an example – saying it had risen 80% in five years to around 18 months, with many court dates now being fixed in summer 2026 for charges made last year or early in 2024.

Chair of the CBA, Tana Adkin KC, told Sky News: “The number of sexual offences committed by those on bail for previous untried offences more than doubled between 2020 and 2022.

“This indicates a systemic failure to deliver on a core government duty to protect all citizens from harm.”

She pointed to a lack of investment in the criminal barristers required to prosecute and defend cases saying, without it, charges could not be “swiftly tried” in court and there would be “dire consequences for the innocent unable to clear their name and the culpable at risk of reoffending on bail for extended periods”.

Ms Adkin added: “Years of underfunding in the criminal justice professionals tasked with ensuring offences once charged are litigated has real-life consequences for defendants, witnesses, complainants and victims as well as their families, all caught up in the historic delays in our criminal courts.”

The Survivors Trust is calling for sexual offences to be tried in a court with a panel of judges and lay-people advisers to help victims through the process, as well as speed it up – and Ms Maxted believes this would also cut down the number of offences committed while people are on bail.

“You wouldn’t want a situation where there are unfair trials,” she said. “There has got to be a process where everyone is able to present their case.

“But at the moment we are leaving victims vulnerable and then leaving communities vulnerable and the statistics are proving this.

“If someone’s already been arrested and then released on bail and then they re-offended, how much more do they have to do to prove that they are a danger in the community?”

The MoJ statistics revealed through Sky News’s Freedom of Information request also showed 7,693 offences of violence against a person – ranging from assault to murder – were committed between 2020 and 2022 by someone who was on bail.

And there were a further 17,243 theft offences, along with 1,137 robbery offences, and 411 incidents of criminal damage and arson.

The figures will come as an embarrassment to a department already under pressure over its handling of not just the courts system, but the prison service as well.

As well as the changes to bail hearings mentioned above, ministers have issued orders that prisoners serving sentences of less than four years be freed up to 70 days early from this month, among predictions male institutions could be full by June.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak said no one would be released “if they were deemed a threat to the public” or had committed a “serious offence”.

But Labour accused him of “misleading” the Commons, pointing to fresh reports from the chief inspector of prisons that some prisoners who had already been let out were a “risk to children” and had a “history of stalking, domestic abuse, and being subject to a restraining order”.

Sky News has approached the Ministry of Justice for comment.

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Thousands of farmers to descend on Downing Street to protest against inheritance tax changes

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8 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Thousands of farmers to descend on Downing Street to protest against inheritance tax changes

Thousands of farmers from across the UK are expected to gather outside Downing Street today – in the biggest protest yet against the government’s changes to inheritance tax rules.

The reforms, announced in last month’s budget, will mean farms worth over £1m will be subject to 20% inheritance tax from April 2026.

Farmers say that will lead to land being sold to pay the tax bill, impact food security and the future of British farming.

The Government insists it is “committed” to the farming industry but has had to make “difficult decisions”.

Farmers from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England will arrive in London to hear speeches from agricultural leaders.

Sky News understands TV presenter and farm owner Jeremy Clarkson, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey will also address crowds.

Protestors will then march around Parliament Square.

‘It’s really worrying’

“It’s unfortunate, as Labour had originally said they would support farmers,” said fourth-generation farmer Will Weaver, who is attending today’s rally.

His 500-acre cow and sheep farm in South Gloucestershire has been in his family since 1939.

“We’ve probably buried our head in the sand a little bit. I think, back of a fag-packet rough estimates, tax is going to be north of half a million [pounds].”

The government is keen to stress that farmers will get a decade to pay the bill – but that comes as little comfort to Will: “It’s more than our profit in any year that we’ve had in the last 10 years. Dad’s saying we’ll have to sell something. I don’t know if we’ll be able to raise that sort of money through a mortgage. It’s really worrying.”

As anger grows, there continues to be disagreement between the National Farmer’s Union and the Government over how many farms will actually be impacted by the change.

The Treasury says only the wealthiest estates, around 500 of them, will have to pay under the new rules – claiming 72% of farms won’t be impacted.

But farmers say that calculation is incorrect – citing that DEFRA’s own figures show 66% of farms are valued at over £1m and that the government has undervalued many estates.

At the same time as the rally, the NFU is addressing 1,800 of its members in Westminster before they lobby MPs.

More on this story:
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‘Understanding has been betrayed’

Max Sealy represents the NFU Dairy Board in the South of England.

“We have a detailed job to do to explain why this is wrong not just for farming, not just for the countryside and not just for our families, but for the economy in general,” he said.

“This is a bad tax – it’s been badly implemented because it will affect growth productivity in the country.”

He told Sky News Labour made promises to farmers ahead of the election.

“Both Steve Reed and Keir Starmer came to our conference two years ago and told us farming wasn’t a business like any others and that he understood the long-term nature of farming – that understanding has been betrayed,” he said.

And the government say:

In a joint statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said: “Farmers are the backbone of Britain, and we recognise the strength of feeling expressed by farming and rural communities in recent weeks. We are steadfast in our commitment to Britain’s farming industry because food security is national security.

“It’s why we are investing £5bn into farming over the next two years – the largest amount ever directed towards sustainable food production, rural economic growth and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

“But with public services crumbling and a £22bn fiscal hole that this Government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.

“The reforms to Agricultural Property Relief ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on.”

A Met Police spokesperson said it was “well prepared” for the protest and would have officers deployed to ensure it passes off “safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption”.