Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has vowed to spare alleged rape victims the ordeal of appearing in court.
Instead, they will be able record their evidence to increase the prosecution rates for sex crimes.
Campaigners were furious when ministers implemented this measure at three crown courts in the last year as part of a testing exercise. But Mr Raab said he would ‘certainly be looking to expand that right across the country’ as ‘the results have been good’.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab vowed not to make alleged rape victims go through the humiliating experience of appearing before a courtroom.
Section 28 is a special measure that is offered to vulnerable witnesses.
Mr Raab, who was told by Boris Johnson to make prosecutions his top priority, told The Times that one of the advantages of Section 28 is that ‘we’re getting more people pleading early, rather than just hanging on to see what the victim looks like.’
Only 2,102 of the 58,856 cases of rape led to prosecutions in England and Wales in the year to March 2020.
Section 28, which allows vulnerable witnesses to record evidence privately before trials could be the solution to those figures.
Mr Raab, who was told by Boris Johnson to make prosecutions his top priority, told the Times that one of the advantages of the Section 28 pre-recorded evidence is that ‘we’re getting more people pleading early, rather than just hanging on to see what the victim looks like.’
This comes as the National Audit Office, (NAO) reported last week that the number of victims of sexual assault and rape who have waited more then a year for their trial to begin has risen from 246 to 1,316 – an increase of 435%.
The spending watchdog warned that the backlog at the crown court could lead to declining cases, as victims withdrew from the system and defendants exploit the fading memories of victims and witnesses.
Only 2,102 of 58.856 rape cases were prosecuted in England and Wales between March 2020 and March 2020.