"My reason, the physician to my love, angry that his prescriptions are not kept, hath left me." - William Shakespeare
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Rape conviction rate figures 'misleading'
"Persistent claims that only six per cent of rapes end in conviction was seen as a useful "campaigning tool " by some but was "extremely unhelpful", warned Baroness Stern, the cross-bench peer who carried out a six month review in to tackling rape.
She said it has dominated the debate "without explanation, analysis and context" to the "detriment of public understanding" over the rape issues.
She said the figure, which compares the number of convictions against total reports to the police, is based on calculations not used for any other offence.
Once a rape case reaches the courts, almost 60 per cent of defendants are convicted – a rate higher than some other violent attacks...
Lady Stern today demanded the figure no longer be used.
Other findings in her wide-ranging report include:
:: as many as one in ten rape allegations could be false
:: the binge drinking culture has increased the risk of rape
[Ed: This would seem to lead to "victim blaming", but what is sauce for the gander is not sauce for the goose]"
... The peer did not single out individuals for criticism but concluded: "It is clear to us that the way the six per cent conviction rate figures has been able to dominate the public discourse on rape, without explanation, analysis and context, is extremely unhelpful.
"There is anecdotal evidence that it may well have discouraged some victims from reporting"...
A report in to the effectiveness of juries, published by the Ministry of Justice last month, confirmed that rapists are more likely to be convicted than acquitted, with higher success rates than those for rates for grievous bodily harm, threats to kill, manslaughter and attempted murder"
This is another reason to support the comment that "Feminist statistics have lost all credibility with me"
The LPPL effect is also ironically amusing.