The number of sexual offence cases dropped because of a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence has risen sixfold in four years. Official figures show a steady year-on-year increase in sex crime prosecutions being abandoned over issues around the disclosure of information. The Crown Prosecution Service figures follow the high-profile collapse of several rape cases after failures to share evidence with defence solicitors. They prompted the CPS to launch a review this year into every rape and serious sexual assault case in England and Wales and a package of emergency measures to shore up public confidence in the justice system. The latest figures show that 23 sexual offence cases were stopped at magistrates’ and crown courts because of disclosure problems in 2017/18, up…

Source: The Times May 03, 2018 21:22 UTC