Bindmans and survivor groups accuse police of inhumane delays in rape investigations across England and Wales
Human rights law firm Bindmans has joined forces with leading survivor organisations to lodge a formal super-complaint over what they describe as excessively lengthy police investigations into alleged sexual offences across England and Wales.
The super-complaint has been submitted by Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, the Centre of Women’s Justice, Rape Crisis England & Wales and Bindmans. It is designed to address systemic issues within policing that cannot be resolved through existing individual complaints processes.
The organisations argue that prolonged investigations into sexual offences are causing serious harm to survivors, with cases effectively stalled for years. They say such delays are not only inhumane but may also amount to a systemic breach of the UK government’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly the duty to investigate serious crimes effectively.
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The complaint raises concerns about the way police forces monitor and manage the timeliness of sexual offence investigations. It argues that inconsistent oversight and a lack of accountability have allowed delays to become entrenched across forces.
India Cooper, a solicitor in Bindmans’ public law and human rights team, said excessive delays have become a widespread feature of policing. She warned that long-running investigations risk breaching survivors’ human rights by denying them prompt and effective access to justice. Ms Cooper said survivors left waiting for many years face prolonged trauma and reduced safety, and urged policing bodies to take immediate action.
Data obtained from the Home Office through freedom of information requests underpins the complaint. The figures show that 37,188 investigations into alleged sexual offences have taken longer than three years to complete. More than half of those cases exceeded four years.
As of March 2025, there were 13,949 sexual offence investigations that had been open for more than three years. Of those, 1,716 had been ongoing for over seven years, according to the super-complaint.
Maxime Rowson, head of policy and public affairs at Rape Crisis England & Wales, said the delays caused by police investigations, combined with the Crown Court backlog, have created a system that no longer functions effectively for survivors. She said thousands of people who report sexual violence are being asked to engage with processes that can last years with little progress.
Ms Rowson warned that prolonged delays increase the risk of survivors withdrawing from cases due to stress and distress, memories fading, or alleged perpetrators dying before proceedings conclude. She said these failures may prevent justice entirely.
The super-complaint also cautions that without meaningful reform, survivors who feel failed by the criminal justice system may increasingly turn to civil litigation to uphold their rights. The organisations warn this could expose public bodies to substantial damages and legal costs.