Written question asked by Annette Brooke (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 23 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 June 2007. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 13 June 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Sexual Offences: Young People

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to review gaps in evidence and methods of collecting evidence to support prosecution with particular reference to cases where teenagers have been sexually assaulted or raped.

Answer: [holding answer 4 June 2007]: There are a number of new initiatives under way to build better serious sexual offence cases, including those involving teenage victims.All police forces are being asked to develop action plans to implement the recommendations of ‘Without Consent’, the 2007 joint inspection into the investigation and prosecution of rape by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate. This includes forces working with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to implement improvements to the collection and presentation of evidence, review processes and monitor case outcomes.This builds on the national training programme which has been developed for specialist officers working on sexual offence cases. We are also improving facilities for the collection of evidence through the development of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), most of which see teenage clients. There are now 16 SARCs with a further 14 in development.In order to support improvements to the investigation and prosecution of serious sexual offences, we have also introduced new arrangements for monitoring performance and providing practical support to forces and CPS areas.

Secondary information