Official Statistics

Murder, manslaughter and sexual offences in the Service Justice System: 2023 Background Quality Report

Published 28 March 2024

1. Contact Details

Analysis-Publications@mod.gov.uk

Last updated: 28 March 2024

2. Introduction & statistical presentation

Overview

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes a wide range of statistics relating to Armed Forces personnel, including statistics regarding the investigation, referral and prosecution of Persons Subject to Service Law and Civilians Subject to Service Discipline in connection with criminal conduct offences of murder, manslaughter and certain sexual offences. The main purpose of these statistics is to inform policy and decision making within the Department and inform general debate within Government, Parliament and the wider public.

It is worthy of note that the Military Court Service (MCS) routinely publishes anonymised Court Martial results on the gov.uk website.

MOD does not currently produce any other statistics on offending within the Armed Forces or regarding the SJS.

Background and Context

These statistics focus primarily on the number of offences contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 03) and non-recent sexual offences that were dealt with wholly within the SJS between 1 January and 31 December 2023. This includes all allegations reported to and investigated by the Service Police, all cases referred to the SPA by the Service Police or the suspect’s Commanding Officer (CO) for a prosecution decision and all charges tried by the Court Martial. The details of these cases have been used to provide statistics in respect of locations, suspects, victims and outcomes.

Non-recent Offences are sexual offences that took place before the enactment of the SOA 03 but were reported in the reporting calendar year.

Investigations that were initially reported as relating to an offence under the SOA 03 but were later re-classified as relating to a non-SOA 03 offence have not been included in these statistics.

The AFA 06 requires that all charges relating to offences contrary to the SOA 03 can only be heard in the Court Martial - no sexual offences are dealt with at Summary Hearing.

As of 1 March 2018, all SOA 03 offences are listed within Schedule 2 of the AFA 06. Consequently, Section 113 of the AFA 06 requires all allegations of such offences to be reported to the Service Police. All allegations of a sexual offence reported to the Service Police will be investigated. All allegations of murder and manslaughter are also listed within Schedule 2 of the AFA and are required to be reported to the Service Police. Currently, decisions on which jurisdiction should deal with criminal conduct offences committed in the UK by Service personnel are made by the Service and civilian policing and prosecutorial authorities on a case-by-case basis. On 25 Oct 2023, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Service Prosecutions published a Protocol on Concurrent Jurisdiction in England and Wales, which provides guidance to prosecutors at the CPS and the SPA to assist them to decide the most appropriate jurisdiction for a particular case. Similar protocols are being developed to address concurrent jurisdiction in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Service Police are trained to undertake investigations into serious offences including murder, manslaughter and rape at the Defence School of Policing and Guarding. Specialist investigators also attend training accredited by the College of Policing delivered by Civilian Police Forces. Until 5 December 2022, the most serious of sexual offences and offences of murder and manslaughter were investigated by appropriately trained investigators in the Special Investigation Branch (SIB). On 5 December 2022 the Special Investigation Branches of the three Services were combined to form the specialist tri-Service Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU) under the command of Provost Marshal (Serious Crime). The Service Police (and in due course DSCU) are inspected by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
In March 2023, the DSCC established the Victim and Witness Care Unit (VWCU), providing support and guidance to victims of sexual offending. The DSCU offers the support of a Victim Liaison Officers to all victims of sexual offending regardless of the seriousness of the case. Sexual Offence Liaison Officer’s are offered in circumstances when this is more appropriate for the victim. The Service Police will refer a case to the SPA once the Evidential Sufficiency Test has been met (as detailed in Section 116 of the AFA 06). Offences contrary to the SOA 03, non-recent sexual offences and murder and manslaughter cannot be heard summarily by a CO. These must be referred by the Service Police to the SPA for a decision to prosecute or not, applying the Full Code Test contained in the Code for Crown Prosecutors (does the evidence offer a realistic prospect of conviction and is it in the public (including the Service) interest to prosecute). The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) was formed on 1 January 2009. It carries out its prosecutorial functions independently of the military Chain of Command. The main role of the SPA is to review cases referred to it by the Service Police and the Chain of Command and to prosecute appropriate cases at Court Martial. The SPA is headed by the Director of Service Prosecutions (DSP), a senior civil servant and King’s Counsel who was appointed by HM The Queen. The SPA has specialist Rape, Sexual Offence and Domestic Abuse (RASODA) teams of trained Service and civilian prosecutors. The SPA also instructs independent civilian barristers to advise and prosecute in appropriate cases. The Military Court Service (MCS) provides a criminal court service for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force in the Court Martial. It has done so on a Tri-Service basis since 2007 and manages two permanent Military Court Centres. The Court Martial has access to the full range of special measures available in the Crown Court to assist a complainant giving evidence, and each court centre has a vulnerable witness suite with video-link facilities. Professional witness support services are available at all courts. Procedure in the Court Martial mirrors the civilian Crown Court in England and Wales and cases are heard by a Judge Advocate appointed by the Judge Advocate General and a Board (jury equivalent) of three or six lay members comprising officers, warrant officers and OR7 ranks. From 1 January 2023 the law requires at least one man and one woman member (where reasonably practicable) to be specified on every Board and proceedings where five lay members were required was increased to six lay members. Additionally, from 4 September 2023, tri-Service Boards are specified for Courts Martial. Judge Advocates are independent civilian judges, administered by the Ministry of Justice and selected through the Judicial Appointments Commission in the same way as all civilian judges. All Judge Advocates sit both in the Court Martial and the Crown Court. The Judge Advocate General is a Circuit Judge. The Judge Advocate General has directed that cases involving allegations of rape and sexual assault are to be listed for trial within eight weeks of the last case management direction, which means that, save in exceptional cases, trials should take place in all sexual cases within six months of the case being directed by the SPA.
The Court Martial can impose the full range of sentences available to the Crown Court up to and including imprisonment for life, as well as a range of specific Service punishments including Service detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre. The procedures for the Court Martial are laid down in the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009.

3 Statistical Processing

These statistics primarily focus on the numbers of offences contrary to the SOA 03 and non-recent sexual offences that were dealt with wholly within the SJS in the 2023 calendar year, broken down into the following characteristics of interest:

• Offence type
• Country of incident
• Outcome of Service Police investigation
• Gender / Service / Status / Age of Suspect / Victim
• Cases received by SPA for prosecution decision
• Outcomes of SPA prosecution decision
• Court Martial findings by defendants / charges

Further detail is also available in the excel spread sheets that accompany these statistics.

The Service Police investigation statistics are derived from the Service Police electronic crime recording system known as REDCAP, which is used for the recording of all offences investigated by the Service Police. On 30 Oct 23, the Service Police transitioned to a new investigation management system, CONNECT, which now provides data for this publication.

Information regarding sexual offences is manually extracted from REDCAP and CONNECT on a daily basis and stored on a separate database by the Crime Statistics and Analysis Cell (CSAC) within the Service Police Crime Bureau (SPCB). In completing this extraction and transfer of information, the content is quality controlled and verified to ensure that it is accurate as far as is possible.

The SPA case statistics are derived from the SPA electronic case recording system known as the Central Information Management Application (CIMA), which is used for the recording and tracking of all cases prosecuted by the SPA.

Information regarding sexual offences is stored on a separate database by the SPA Practice Manager (Chief of Staff ). In completing this extraction and transfer of information, the content is quality controlled and verified to ensure that it is accurate as far as is possible.

The MCS case statistics are derived from the MCS electronic case recording system known as the Service Courts Information Management (SCIM), which is used for the recording and tracking of all Court Martial trials managed by the MCS.

Information regarding sexual offences has been manually extracted from SCIM and stored on a separate database by MCS staff. In completing this extraction and transfer of information, the content is quality controlled and verified to ensure that it is accurate as far as is possible.

Supplementary tables have been provided for Offences in contravention to the SOA 2003. They have not been provided for murder/manslaughter due to small numbers. Future editions will review this.

4. Quality Management

The MOD’s quality management process for Official Statistics consists of three elements: (1) Regularly monitoring and assessing quality risk via an annual assessment; (2) Providing a mechanism for reporting and reviewing revisions/corrections to Official Statistics; (3) Ensuring BQRs are publishing alongside reports and are updated regularly.

The quality assessment of these statistics is relatively low, as the appropriate data sources are used in collaboration with the appropriate experts in each area.

5. Relevance

The MOD has previously held regular consultation meetings with users of Defence Official Statistics, which provided a forum for user feedback on their needs and perceptions. Proposed changes were set out at the consultation meetings in order to gain feedback from both internal and external users.

The MOD invites users to provide feedback to the statistical output teams on any of their publications or reports using the contact information on the front of the publication.

The principal stakeholders for these SJS statistics are the Service Police, SPA, MCS and the Chief of Defence People area of the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The statistics are produced by these SJS stakeholders to identify trends, develop crime prevention strategies, identify performance indicators and develop prosecution / court administrative policy and within the MOD to inform discipline, conduct and legislation policy. They are also used to answer parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information requests.

For detail on pre-release access to Defence Statistics publications please see the Defence Statistics pre-release access list webpage for the most up to date pre-release access list.

People in the roles with access receive pre-release access to the publication up to 24 hours in advance of publication and an accompanying ministerial submission.

These statistics were developed in close consultation with all SJS stakeholders.

The coverage of these statistics is close to, if not equal to all cases of offences contrary to the SOA 03 investigated by the Service Police, referred to the SPA for a prosecution decision and heard at Court Martial during the 2023 calendar year. There are no known unmet user needs.

6. Accuracy

Service Police

All offences investigated by the Service Police must be recorded on REDCAP as a matter of policy. This then generates an Investigation Reference Number (IRN) which follows the case throughout the Service Justice System. The IRN is used to manage and store all evidence in the case. REDCAP therefore holds information on all offences investigated by the Service Police. With effect from 30 Oct 23, all offences have been recorded on CONNECT which, similar to REDCAP, provides a Unique Reference Number (URN).

Whilst the information placed on to REDCAP or CONNECT is carried out by the investigator, the content is subjected to quality control by line management and the Records Office at the Service Police Crime Bureau (SPCB). It is therefore as accurate as a manual system will allow.

REDCAP and CONNECT are live systems; consequently, the information contained within it may change as an investigation progresses. For example, an investigation into a sexual assault may change to a common assault. Interrogation of the REDCAP/CONNECT information for statistics may therefore produce differing results dependent on when it was conducted in relation to the change of offence. The 2023 statistics were obtained from REDCAP and CONNECT on 26 January 2024. Those cases under investigation on that day are therefore subject to change.

In cases of multiple offences, REDCAP or CONNECT will only show the result as the headline offence. Therefore, an investigation into a series of sexual assaults with one suspect will only produce a result as one case. Similarly, if a case involves allegations of rape and sexual assault, it will only show as the ‘headline offence’ and produce the result as one case of rape. Attempted offences are included in the statistics where recorded as such and where they are the headline offence.

Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA)

The SPA classifies each referral received as one case, regardless of the number of accused or charges identified by the Service Police or the CO in that referral. The SPA statistical data reflects the number of cases referred and whether the decision following review is to bring charges in the Court Martial, to refer the case to the CO or to take no further action. The charges which the SPA may direct be brought in the Court Martial in respect of any particular case may not be the same as the charges which were referred for consideration to the SPA by the Service Police or SPA. For example, a case may be referred to the SPA on suggested charges of attempted rape and sexual assault but the SPA, on reviewing the case in line with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, may decide to direct charges of assault by penetration and sexual assault. The correct charges will not be identified until all the evidence has been produced and reviewed.

CIMA is a live system, which means the information contained within it will develop as the case progresses to conclusion (e.g. direction or non-direction). Interrogation of the CIMA information for statistics may therefore produce differing results dependent on when it was conducted in relation to any change of offence. These statistics were collated on 22 Jan 2024.

On receipt of the referral the case is initially recorded on CIMA and subsequently allocated to a prosecutor. This process generates an internal SPA reference number linked to the Service Police Investigation Reference Number (IRN). CIMA is used to record all SPA activity on every case including non-institution, referral to CO, discontinuance after direction and direction. CIMA therefore holds information on all cases considered by the SPA, although a separate database is used for statistical purposes.

The content is subjected to quality control by line management and the Practice Manager (Chief of Staff ). It is therefore as accurate as a manual system will allow.

In cases where multiple suspects are alleged to have jointly committed the same offence, the SPA records the matter as a single case. Consequently, some of the cases contained within the SPA statistics may have more than one suspect.

In cases of multiple offences, CIMA will only show the result for the most serious offence. Therefore, an investigation into a series of sexual assaults with one suspect will only produce a result as one case. Similarly, if a case involves allegations of rape and sexual assault, the result will only be recorded against the most serious offence, namely rape. Offences of attempting to commit a substantive offence are included in the statistics where recorded as such and where they are the most serious offence.

Military Court Service (MCS)

All cases that are brought to trial in the Court Martial must be recorded by the MCS on SCIM on receipt of the trial direction by SPA, for the necessary pre-trial and subsequent Court Martial hearings to be arranged. This then generates an internal MCS reference number that links to the Service Police Investigation Reference Number (IRN) which follows the case throughout the Court Martial process. SCIM is used to record all MCS activity on each case throughout the complete Court Martial process. SCIM therefore holds information on all Court Martial trials administered by the MCS. No other organisation conducts such administration.

The information is placed on to SCIM by administrative staff on receipt of a notification that a case is required to be heard by Court Martial, following which it is updated by the MCS personnel responsible for administering the hearing each time there is a development in the case. The content is subjected to quality control by line management and the Director MCS. It is therefore as accurate as a manual system will allow.

SCIM is a live system; consequently, the information contained within it will develop and may change as a case progresses through the SPA to prosecution or not. For example, a charge of sexual assault referred for trial by Court Martial may change to an alternative non-sexual offence or no charge at all as the case proceeds to trial. Interrogation of the SCIM information for statistics may therefore produce differing results dependent on when it was conducted in relation to the change of offence. *These statistics were gained on 29 January 2024.

Defendants that were found guilty by Court Martial in 2023 but were not sentenced until 2024 are not included within these statistics. Attempted offences are included in the statistics and are recorded within the headline offence category (for example attempted rape will be recorded within the rape offence category).

7. Timeliness and Punctuality

This is the seventh MOD publication of statistics regarding sexual offences dealt wholly within the SJS. The Service Police information was gathered on 26 January 2024, in order to ensure that all cases investigated during 2023 had been uploaded on to REDCAP and CONNECT. The SPA information was gathered on 26 January 2024, in order to ensure that all cases referred to them during 2023 had been uploaded on to CIMA and the content confirmed as accurate. The MCS information was gathered on 29 January 2024, in order to ensure that the SCIM content was confirmed as accurate.

These statistics will continue to be published on an annual basis.

Non-recent and planned publication dates can be found on the UK National Statistics Publication release list here: Statistics Anouncements.

The release date for this publication was pre-announced on the Calendar of upcoming statistical releases section of Statistics at MOD.

8. Coherence and Comparability

MOD Analysis Directorate published statistics on UK Armed Forces are the definitive statistics in the MOD. There are no other publicly available regular publications solely on the numbers of sexual offences dealt with by the SJS with which to ensure coherence. Within the MOD direct queries of the REDCAP, CIMA or SCIM will produce slightly different numbers due to timing and quality issues.

These statistics may not be directly comparable with those published by other countries due to differences in the way jurisdiction of offences committed by members of the Armed Forces is managed overseas. Some countries may deal with all Armed Forces offending within their SJS, whereas others may rely more greatly on their nation’s Criminal Justice System (CJS). These statistics do not contain any cases dealt with by the CJS.

9. Accessibility and Clarity

The current publication consists of a HTML report containing commentary, graphs and tables on trends in the statistics, supported by excel spreadsheets. Other formats may be possible for MOD Analysis Directorate (formerly Defence Statistics) to produce on request.

The commentary in our reports identifies and analyses the key changes in the data and provide summary statistics and policy context. Graphs, tables and other data visualisation methods are used to further explain these trends.

All MOD Analysis Directorate (Tri-Service) publications can be found on the webpage: MOD National and Official Statistics by topic.

They can also be accessed via the statistics release calendar on Research and statistics page of GOV.UK.

Copies of the reports are also placed in the House of Commons library.

10. Trade-offs between Output Quality Components

The main trade-off is between timeliness and quality. To ensure statistics are timely, the editing and validation process relies heavily on manual processes, which take at least a month. Spending less time investigating every relevant case would skew the accuracy of the statistics in what is an extremely sensitive field and negatively impact on the quality of our reports.

11. Performance, Cost and Respondent Burden

The Crime Statistics Analysis Cell (CSAC) within the SPCB, SPA COS and MCS administrative staff are responsible for producing information relating to investigations, prosecution and Courts Martial respectively, as well as providing analysis and advice for management information. This also includes the gathering and preparation of information in answering ad hoc enquiries and FOI requests.

There is no respondent burden as all the data is obtained from the REDCAP, CIMA and SCIM databases which are owned by each respective SJS stakeholder.

12. Confidentiality, and security

Confidentiality

All published outputs are counts of individuals in particular groupings. The rounding policy has not been used because the results of Courts Martial are public information, routinely published on the gov.uk website.

However, the statistics are presented in a manner to ensure the confidentiality of both the victims and suspects of these offences.

Transparency

The reports provide commentary on the key features of the outputs and identify any issues or caveats to the data. This quality report provides further information on the method, production process and quality of the output.

Security

All staff involved in the statistical production process adhere to all MOD, Civil Service and data protection regulations. The data is stored, accessed and analysed using the MOD’s restricted network and IT systems, and access to raw data is password protected and approval for access is granted only by the Department Head, Discipline, Conduct, Complaints and Legislation, Defence People Secretariat.

13. References

Service Prosecuting Authority.

Court Martial Results.

Statistics at MOD Homepage.

MOD Calendar of upcoming statistical releases.