MORE than 1,000 alleged rapes were reported in the Thames Valley area in 2014/15 – the highest for five years.

But only 61 convictions were recorded in the 12 months to the end of 2014, new figures show.

A report published today by the National Rape Monitoring Group showed a total of 1,085 allegations of rape of both adults and children in 2014/15.

Of those, 131 were later classed as ‘cancelled crimes’, where the alleged incident happened outside the force area, was reported in error, was determined as no crime or was a duplicated report.

Thames Valley had the fifth highest level of cancelled crime in England and Wales.

Figures show 311 cases were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service which brought charges in 217.

The report shows out of 161 rape prosecutions in the 2014 calendar year, only 37.8 per cent – or 61 – were convicted.

In 2013/14, 650 alleged rapes were recorded and 954, after the cancellations, in 2014/15.

The report said the average rape case took 232 days from allegation to court case and these timings had “a significant detrimental psychological impact on victims”.

It said: “The process of preparing for court, and the trials themselves, can also be very lengthy and involve levels of scrutiny of the victim not seen for other offences.

“At any time victims may withdraw from the process for fear of giving evidence in court, fear that the process will be too distressing, fear of being disbelieved or judged, or as a result of delays from start to finish.”

Lisa Ward, of the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, said: “If the data reflects more survivors reporting, rather than an increase in, sexual violence in our area then we welcome the increase in figures.

“For a long time reporting rates of sexual violence have remained at around the 15 per cent level, with many survivors concerned they won’t be believed or supported by the criminal justice system.

“The lower level of convictions, which sits at 37.8 per cent, is a worrying figure, given that the national average is 56.9 per cent. This shows the need for independent support for survivors both through the criminal justice system and beyond.

“The wait of 232 days from the report to court has a potential impact on survivors’ ability to feel able to give evidence and to recover from their experience.

“The data reconfirms the need for organisations like ours to be able to offer alternative support to survivors.”

The report said more publicity to urge victims to come forward, and the Jimmy Savile controversy and Operation Yewtree were reasons for increased reports of rape.

The Crown Prosecution service (CPS) has said a higher conviction rate for people accused of rape shows "greater public confidence" in the system.

But the CPS has noted that 161 rape prosecutions in 2014 was an improvement on figures from 2012 and 2013, at 105 and 129 respectively. 

Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecuter for the Thames and Chiltern CPS, said: "The data in the report highlights that more rape cases are being referred by the police and charged, with prosecutions and convictions reaching the highest volume ever.

"With greater public confidence in how the police and CPS are dealing with sexual offences comes the inevitable increase in prosecutions."

The CPS's own Violence Against Women and Girls report for 2014/15 said the service had prosecuted 178 cases in the Thames Valley and 112 resulted in a conviction.

He added that the main reason for unsuccessful cases was acquittal by a jury.

Last January CPS Thames and Chiltern set up a specialised Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit working in partnership with the police.

Mr Foster said: "We have done a huge amount in the last year on rape. This includes a Rape Action Plan, the launch of toolkits on consent and offender tactics, advocacy training and monitoring. Looking ahead, a rape training programme has been developed for implementation during 2015/16.

"Rape and sexual abuse against women, men and children can have a devastating impact. The CPS takes all allegations very seriously and we are committed to increasing public confidence."