Investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes: review

Acknowledgement

We wish to extend thanks to all who facilitated our visits and shared their experience and knowledge. We found many committed and dedicated professionals seeking to achieve the best outcome for each case, challenged by unprecedented numbers of serious sexual crimes in a climate of budgetary restraint and an increasingly complex criminal justice system.

We wish to thank in particular the victims of sexual crimes who, with great dignity and courage, shared with us their experience of the criminal justice system and the impact that it had and, in many cases, continues to have on their lives. Victims play a pivotal role in the investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes. Accordingly, it is important to listen to the victims’ voice to ensure improvements are made within the criminal justice system to enhance public confidence and secure the engagement of future victims and witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of these crimes.