Recorded rape offences have been rising in England and Wales, but the proportion of offences making it to court has fallen significantly over the past few years.
Recorded rape offences have risen by 43% in England and Wales - but the proportion making it to court has more than halved since 2016.
Police and prosecutors are asking complainants in rape cases to agree to hand their phones over or face the prospect of prosecutions being dropped - something victims' commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove has said is "unlikely to do anything to help reverse the fall in prosecutions for rape and sexual violence".
The police are referring fewer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which, in turn, is deciding that fewer of those that are referred should go to trial.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decides whether cases investigated by the police go to trial. In September 2019, it said the proportion of reported rapes being prosecuted had reached their lowest since records began over a decade ago.
But the HM Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has found no evidence the CPS is prosecuting only "easy cases where a conviction was more likely".
In the year to December 2015, 14% of rapes recorded by police in England and Wales led to a criminal charge. That's compared with 17% for all crimes, according to Home Office figures.
An increase in the amount of evidence involved, from phones and social media, has made these cases more difficult for police, prosecutors and, potentially, victims.
By December 2018, the proportion of rapes leading to a charge had fallen to under 2%, compared with 8% for all crimes.
Victims' commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove, meanwhile, has said the fact police and prosecutors now ask complainants in rape cases to agree to hand their phones over or face the prospect of prosecutions being dropped is "unlikely to do anything to help reverse the fall in prosecutions for rape and sexual violence".
During the same period, the number of rapes recorded by police rose from 29,385 to 41,186 - a 40% increase.
More complainants are withdrawing their allegations before the police can refer their cases to the CPS, it says.
In 2007, there were 13,774 recorded offences of rape, so there has been a tripling in numbers in a decade.
Katie Russell, of charity Rape Crisis, said resourcing was also an issue, with both the police and prosecutors needing more funding to pursue these complex cases.
There was a particularly significant fall in cases making it to court between 2016 and 2017, from 8.1% to 3.3% in a single year.
Rising reports
This coincided with amendments to the Policing and Crime Act, meaning the law in England and Wales now presumes in favour of releasing people suspected of crimes without bail - when there isn't enough evidence to arrest or charge them for a crime. Previously, they might have been released on bail with various conditions attached. Their case would have been regularly reviewed.
Reports of rape have tripled in the past decade.
But the 2017 amendments meant more people being released under investigation, which, according to Ian Kelcey, who co-chairs the Law Society criminal law committee, has led to cases being left to drift, with no oversight.
Part of this has been linked to the Metropolitan Police's Operation Yewtree investigation, set up following revelations about paedophile Jimmy Savile.
The 2011 introduction of the right for complainants to review the handling of their cases, and the aftermath of the Metropolitan Police's Operation Yewtree investigation, set up following revelations about paedophile Jimmy Savile, had led to a large increase in reports, he said.
There was also an increase in reports after the 2011 introduction of a right for complainants to have the handling of their cases reviewed.
And this had been linked to a fall in the proportion of prosecutions leading to a successful conviction - because the CPS preferred to progress the case and leave it to a jury to decide even if it was not "evidentially there".
And as reports rose, the proportion of prosecutions leading to a successful conviction fell slightly.
The success rate from prosecution to conviction fell slightly from 2011.
Dropped cases
But now the CPS has become more reluctant to allow cases to proceed without strong enough evidence, according to Mr Kelcey, sending cases back to police if they are not trial-ready.
After this fall in the conviction rate, the CPS became more reluctant to allow cases to proceed without strong evidence, according to Ian Kelcey, who co-chairs the Law Society criminal law committee.
If they do not receive a reply within three months, the CPS will "administratively" end the file.
In November, it was revealed the CPS had previously had a secret conviction rate target, introduced in 2016 - that 60% of rape cases should end in a prosecution.
"It's an easy way to fob off a case," Mr Kelcey said.
And it was suggested this may have caused prosecutors to drop weaker or more challenging cases.
Katie Russell, of charity Rape Crisis, said gathering strong evidence for rape cases was particularly difficult as there was usually no-third party witness and forensic evidence became irrelevant if the alleged perpetrator said they had had consensual sex with the complainant.
The CPS itself says it has "worked hard in recent years to improve how we deal with sexual offences" and will "always seek to prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so".
Resourcing was also an issue, Ms Russell says, with both the police and prosecutors needing more funding to pursue these complex cases.
'Drift'
A CPS official said: "Rape has a devastating impact on victims but can be one of the most challenging offences to prosecute.
There was a particularly significant fall in rape cases making it to court between 2016 and 2017, from 8.1% to 3.3% in a single year.
"We have worked hard in recent years to improve how we deal with sexual offences and are working across the criminal justice system to make improvements.
This coincided with amendments to the Policing and Crime Act for England and Wales, which favoured releasing people without bail when there was not enough evidence to arrest or charge.
"We will always seek to prosecute where there is sufficient evidence to do so and all our specialist prosecutors receive ongoing training so they are fully equipped to manage these complex cases."
Previously, people suspected of crimes, including rape, might have been released on bail, with various conditions attached, and their case would have been regularly reviewed.
This piece was originally published in April 2019, but is updated regularly to include the latest statistics.
And, according to Mr Kelcey, this change has led to cases being left to drift.
This piece was originally published in April 2019, but has been updated to include the latest statistics.
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