Published Article

HeadlineExclusive: Rape and sexual offence investigations without outcome rise sharply in London

Short HeadlineExclusive: London rape case backlog surges

StandfirstCity News FOI data uncovered that the rise is thought to be driven by fewer rape and sexual offence cases making it to court

The number of active investigations into rape and sexual offences in London has increased sharply over the past three years, according to a Freedom of Information request obtained by City News.

Data recorded by the Metropolitan Police suggests the number of rape and sexual offences in the capital in the year to April will eclipse 2024/25.

As of January 2026, there are nearly 5,500 rape cases and 8,500 sexual offence cases pending an outcome.

Responding to the new figures, Anne Kazimirski, a strategy consultant on violence against women, said reported cases are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

Already, this is a 72% increase on cases reported in 2022, and the figure looks set to nearly double by the end of the financial year.

Addressing Parliament in December, Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, called the figures “a national emergency”.

She has vowed to halve the number of these crimes within the next five years, with a focus on prevention. £20m will be invested to tackle harmful attitudes in young people.

What is causing these backlogs?

In a November 2025 report, Rape Crisis UK said there are an insufficient number of barristers working on Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) cases at the Crown Court.

In 2024, about 20% of sexual offence trials were ineffective due to the absence of a defence or prosecution barrister.

In addition, RASSO prosecutors require significantly more accreditation training than defence barristers when acting on these cases.

With a mounting number of backlogged cases in the UK, it is increasingly unlikely that a new case will be heard within a year of the alleged offence.

The same November 2025 report by Rape Crisis UK shows that, on average, an adult rape victim can expect to wait close to four years between the offence being committed and the case being completed in the Crown Court.

The Ministry of Justice has warned that failing to act on this pile-up could mean the system reaches 200,000 backlogged cases by 2035.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has pledged £450 million in additional investment for UK courts, but warned that the backlog will continue to rise despite these reforms.