PPS publishes statistical bulletin on cases involving sexual offences in 2024-25

The Public Prosecution Service today published its Statistical Bulletin: Cases Involving Sexual Offences 2024/25 which presents key statistics in relation to the prosecution of sexual offences, including caseloads and prosecutorial decisions. It also includes statistics on the outcomes of prosecutions at court involving these offences. 

The Bulletin presents key statistics for the 2024/25 financial year (i.e., 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) and includes comparisons with the 2023/24 financial year. It provides a statistical overview of all sexual offences, including an analysis of cases involving rape. 

The Head of the PPS Serious Crime Unit Catherine Kierans said: “Firstly I want to recognise the bravery of all victims of sexual offending. Anyone can be a victim, and these offences can have a devastating and long-term impact on them and their families.  It takes great courage to report these crimes, and every victim deserves to be listened to and treated with respect. We work closely with our criminal justice partners including police to ensure this happens. 

“The PPS is committed to dealing with these cases in a fair, effective and compassionate manner, prosecuting offences robustly where the Test for Prosecution is met. 

“These are challenging cases for the entire criminal justice system in Northern Ireland and in many other jurisdictions. They can move slowly through the system and often involve complex evidence and legal issues, including multi-media material which police and prosecutors must consider. Defendants are less likely to plead guilty compared with other offences, meaning many victims face the prospect of giving evidence in court. They often hinge on the issue of consent and, for a range of reasons, conviction rates are typically lower than for other offences. 

“We recognise that more needs to be done across the criminal justice system so that all victims can have confidence to report these crimes, and to tackle cross-system issues such as delay. We work closely with all our criminal justice partners on continued efforts to improve the handling of these cases, including the experience of victims. Publishing these statistics each year helps inform public understanding of how the criminal justice system treats these sensitive cases.

“Our dedicated team of specialist prosecutors in the PPS Serious Crime Unit is highly trained and experienced in dealing with sexual offences. We understand the impact of trauma on victims and are committed to handling every case thoroughly and sensitively. We make decisions objectively and in line with the Test for Prosecution. Whatever the outcome, we want victims to feel respected throughout the process. If a case does not meet the Test for Prosecution, we know this can be very difficult for victims to hear, and we do our best to explain the reasons why.”

Ms Kierans highlighted some of the broad findings of the Bulletin including a significant reduction in the time taken for decisions to be taken on indictable (Crown Court) files involving sexual offences.  

Ms Kierans said: “I am encouraged to see a significant reduction in the time victims wait for a prosecution decision in Crown Court cases. Median calendar days for decision on a Crown Court case was 133 days in 2024/25 compared with 212 calendar days in 2023/24, 272 days in 2022/23, 274 days in 2021/22, 293 days in 2020/21, and 255 days in 2019/20. 

“There are several potential factors which could have contributed to this improvement in timeliness. We believe that closer collaborative working with police and measures including triaging files as soon as they arrive and making our processes more efficient are bearing fruit.  This means victims are informed more quickly whether their case will proceed to prosecution and the overall time to decision continues to reduce. 

“The other findings in the report are broadly in line with previous years. We received 1,613 files involving a sexual offence in 2024/25. This was a decrease of just two files on 2023/24 (1,615). Prosecution and conviction rates in the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court are also broadly stable.” 

Key findings

During the 2024/25 financial year: 

• The PPS received a total of 1,613 files involving a sexual offence. This was a decrease of 0.1% on 2023/24 (1,615). There was a decrease of 3.0% in the number of files received involving an offence of rape, from 635 to 616.

• Files received included a total of 1,673 suspects, 630 of whom were charged or reported for rape (a decrease of 3.1% on 2023/24) and 1,043 were in respect of other sexual offences (an increase of 1.2%).

• 1,667 prosecutorial decisions were issued by the PPS in respect of suspects in cases involving sexual offences. The Test for Prosecution was met in respect of 31.6% of decisions, which included 526 decisions for prosecution or diversion from the courts. At 31.6%, the percentage of decisions meeting the Test represents a decrease from 2023/24 (32.2%).

• Of the 1,141 no prosecution decisions issued during 2024/25, the vast majority (99.0%) did not pass the evidential test. The remaining 1.0% did not pass the public interest test.

• Median days for the issue of indictable prosecution decisions (prosecution in the Crown Court) in cases involving sexual offences was 133 calendar days (212 days in 2023/24). Median days for summary prosecution decisions (prosecution in the Magistrates’ or Youth Courts) was 37 days (41 in 2023/24).

• A total of 243 defendants were dealt with in the Crown Court in cases involving sexual offences. The overall conviction rate was 74.1% compared with 72.2% in 2023/24.

• Seventy-five defendants were dealt with in the Crown Court for an offence of rape and fifty (66.7%) of these were convicted of at least one offence (i.e., any offence). Twenty defendants (26.7%) were convicted of an offence of rape.

• A total of 210 defendants were dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts for a sexual offence during 2024/25. The overall conviction rate was 73.3% compared with 72.1% in 2023/24.

Ms Kierans said: “We want to be as open and transparent as possible about how we handle cases involving sexual offences. Our Sexual Offences Policy gives more information on our approach, including the decision-making process and the support available for victims. It also explains issues such as consent and tackles rape and sexual offences myths, which have no place in the criminal justice system and which we challenge wherever they arise.” 

Ms Kierans said more must be done, both within the justice system and across society, to effectively tackle sexual abuse and violence.

“Sexual violence is not just an issue for the criminal justice system – it is a societal challenge that cuts across every sector including education and healthcare and all of society must work together to tackle it. 

“We are committed to playing our part along with our partners including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, the judiciary and the Department of Justice in ongoing work to build the confidence of victims and improve how these cases are handled by every part of the criminal justice system.  

“Achieving deep-rooted change in how the criminal justice system handles these cases requires a sustained and collaborative effort from all criminal justice agencies, along with strategic investment from government across every part of the system. This also means recognising the vital role played by victim support organisations, which guide and assist victims throughout their journey.

“To anyone who has experienced a sexual offence: you are not to blame. Responsibility lies solely with the perpetrator. Please report your experience to the police – they have specialist officers who can help. 

“We are committed to carefully considering every case referred to us by police. We make decisions carefully, fairly and strictly in line with our legal Test for Prosecution. We will use all available measures to make your experience of the justice process, including giving evidence in court, as supportive and comfortable as possible. Our Victim and Witness Care Unit is a dedicated point of contact and can put you in touch with organisations offering specialist emotional and practical support for further help.”

Notes to Editors

This summary should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes (see Tables) and user information provided (see pages 13 - 14 of the Statistical Bulletin). Please also refer to the supporting document to this release Sexual Offences Classification (Offence Description and Legislation) available on the PPS website. 

These are ‘Official Statistics’ as defined in Section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007. Statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are on loan to the PPS and are responsible for ensuring that the statistics produced comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. 

The information presented in this bulletin is derived from the Case Management System, the main operational system within the PPS. This is a ‘live’ system with data being input on a daily basis. 

The full bulletin may be viewed or downloaded from the PPS website.

Any member of the public may comment on the report by contacting PPS as follows: 

Tel: 02890 897100

Deaf / hard of hearing (SMS): 07795 675528

Email: info@ppsni.gov.uk

The PPS Policy for Prosecuting Sexual Offences is available on our website 

For Media Enquiries during office hours (from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm) please contact the PPS Communications Unit at: PPSPressOffice@ppsni.gov.uk

The out of hours duty press officer can be contacted on: 07920 271 804, 07341 800254 or 07920 418844