Super-Complaint on Police Delays
A super-complaint has been launched regarding excessively lengthy police investigations into sexual offences
Super-Complaint Launched Over Lengthy Police Investigations into Sexual Offences
Centre for Women’s Justice, Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, Rape Crisis England & Wales and Bindmans LLP have launched a rare police super-complaint, challenging the scale and harm of excessively long police investigations into sexual offences.
New research shows that over 37,000 survivors have waited more than three years for their cases to be investigated in the past decade, with more than half waiting over four years. Investigations lasting longer than three years have increased by 652%, revealing systemic failures in how sexual offences are prioritised, resourced and monitored.
The organisations argue that these delays are inhumane, re-traumatising, and potentially unlawful, breaching the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Survivors report deep mistrust in the justice system, with more than two-thirds saying they would hesitate to report again after prolonged delays.
The super-complaint calls for an urgent audit across all police forces, greater transparency in official data (which currently obscures very long cases), and meaningful action to address failures in policing, management, and joint working with the CPS.
This is a significant moment in holding the state to account - not only for justice delayed, but for the harm caused when survivors are left waiting in limbo for years.
Why this matters:
Delays don’t just stall cases - they prolong trauma, undermine safety, and push survivors out of the justice system altogether.
Read the full super-complaint and executive summary via the Centre for Women’s Justice and further links below.
