This article in the Telegraph (also featured on The F-Word and Women'sGrid today) is suitably shocking. We already know that the vast majority of rapists are not properly pursued by the police and that the conviction rate is pathetic. But did you know that last year 34 rapists and attempted rapists got ... a caution! A further 130 people got a caution for sexual activity with someone under the age of 13...?!Now an important point to remember here is that a caution can legally only be issued if the criminal admits the offense. So these are cases that should in theory at least be easy to prosecute fully. Of course every case is different but I can't think of a scenario in which a caution would be the right response to rape. So my feeling is we should find the officers who've issued these cautions and do a fair bit more than just caution them.
Photo by Ian Britton, from FreeFoto.com
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