Campaign groups warn prolonged inquiries are retraumatising survivors
A super-complaint has been filed against police forces in England and Wales over years-long delays in investigating sexual offences.
More than 37,000 sexual offence investigations have taken longer than three years to conclude over the past decade, campaigners said.
More than half of these investigations have taken longer than four years, while some survivors have waited nine years for an outcome or a charging decision, according to the organisations that submitted the rare police super-complaint on Monday.
Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC), the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ), Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) and Bindmans LLP said lengthy investigations have become “inhumane and untenable” for survivors. They said police forces could be legally liable for their failure to progress cases, as excessive delays may breach the UK’s obligations under the European convention on human rights (ECHR).
