Rape victims able to challenge CPS if cases dropped under pilot scheme

Victims of rape and serious sexual assault who face their cases being dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service will be given the right to request a review under a government pilot.

- Eleni Courea

The six-month pilot, which will be launched tomorrow in the West Midlands, will give victims the right to ask for their case to be reviewed by a different prosecutor if the CPS indicates that it intends to offer no evidence.

The reform is backed by the attorney general and solicitor general and forms part of the government's pledge to halve violence against women and girls.

Campaigners have long called for the change. Criminal cases can be stopped at any point if a prosecutor decides there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction, but this reform strengthens the right of victims to challenge the decision.

Though a right to review already exists, it cannot be exercised when the case has been stopped in court. Under the terms of the pilot, for the first time, victims of rape or serious sexual abuse will be offered the right to request a review by a different prosecutor before their case is dropped. If that prosecutor determines there is enough evidence, the case will continue.

If the trial is successful in the West Midlands, ministers could decide to extend it across England and Wales.