MoJ acknowledges that long waits in the Crown Court are bad for everyone, including defendants, victims and the system as a whole.25 MoJ noted particular concern for victims of sex cases, which are very complex and often take a long time to conclude.26 In September 2024, there were 11,574 open sexual offence cases in the Crown Court, and 3,291 open adult rape cases.27 MoJ cited data that suggest victim attrition (where a victim withdraws from proceedings) has increased and is particularly hig...

MoJ acknowledges that long waits in the Crown Court are bad for everyone, including defendants, victims and the system as a whole.25 MoJ noted particular concern for victims of sex cases, which are very complex and often take a long time to conclude.26 In September 2024, there were 11,574 open sexual offence cases in the Crown Court, and 3,291 open adult rape cases.27 MoJ cited data that suggest victim attrition (where a victim withdraws from proceedings) has increased and is particularly high for adult rape cases, with 59% of victims dropping out pre–charge in June Type: conclusion | Number: 12 | Response status: accepted Government response: 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2026 2.2 The volume and proportion of trials involving sexual offences that are ineffective is small relative to ineffective trial outcomes in other types of cases. The number of trials involving sex