Ministry of Justice figures show Crown Courts granted bail to 5,517 people accused of sexual offences in the past year, the highest since records began in 2018. Over half of those appearing were bailed, up from 40% in 2019, amid changes aimed at easing prison overcrowding.
The bailed group included 1,004 people accused of “sexual assault on a female”, 886 alleged rapists, more than 600 accused of sexual grooming and 105 listed as “abusers of children through prostitution or pornography”. A Government assessment of the changes predicted that up to 50% of released offenders would breach bail.
The changes also allow some prisoners to be released after serving as little as a third of their sentence, while custodial sentences under 12 months are being abandoned. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley accused the justice system of prioritising criminals over victims. The article cites Najeebullah Arab and Philip Smith, jailed for 17 and 13 years after committing sexual offences while on bail.
