Official Statistics

Murder, manslaughter and sexual offences in the Service Justice System: 2021

Updated 16 December 2022

This annual publication provides statistics on recent and non-recent offences committed by UK Armed Forces personnel and Civilians Subject to Service Discipline that are contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 03) or non-recent sexual offences and dealt wholly within the Service Justice System (SJS).

A non-recent offence relates to an offence that is alleged to have occurred prior to the implementation of the 2003 Sexual Offences Act yet reported within this reporting year. These were previously referred to as “historic”.

From 31 March 2022, this publication will include statistics on murder and manslaughter contrary to common law and dealt wholly within the SJS.

Cases included in these statistics were either reported to the Service Police, referred to the Director of Service Prosecutions (DSP) or heard in the Court Martial between 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. Comparisons have been made to figures from 2019 and 2020 with the exception of murder and manslaughter as this is the first year for which these offences are included in the publication.

The latest Armed Forces strength figures for each Service should be taken into consideration when making comparisons as there are more Army personnel compared the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel in the Armed Forces.

1. Key Points and Trends For Sexual Offences

• During 2021 the Service Police initiated a total of 239 investigations into sexual offences contrary to the SOA 03 and non-recent offences; 225 were into offences contrary to the SOA 03 and 14 were investigations into non-recent offences. This represents a total increase of 64 investigations contrary to the SOA 03 for 2021 compared to 2020 and a decrease of 1 non-recent investigation from 2020.
• Of the 239 total investigations, 134 were referred to the DSP by the Service Police, 50 investigations did not lead to a referral and 55 were still under investigation at the end of 2021. This represents an increase of 34 cases that resulted in a referral of charges, an increase of 21 cases that were not referred and an increase of 22 cases still under investigation compared to the 2020 figures.

• The 225 investigations into SOA 03 offences involved 232 suspects (219 male, 9 female and 4 unidentified suspects) and 274 victims (35 male, 239 female and 0 unknown).

• The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) received 124 case referrals from the Service Police; preferred charges contrary to the SOA 03 and non-recent sexual offences in 48 cases, 56 cases were non-directed and in 3 cases an alternative non-sexual offence charge was preferred. The SPA figures for 2021 contain cases which are still in the process of being investigated and therefore no decision has yet been made as to whether these cases will be charged or non-directed. The figures shown in Table 5 do not show all the decisions made by the SPA within 2021 as some of the decisions were made in respect of cases that were referred before 2021.

• The Court Martial tried 88 defendants in 2021 who faced 145 charges. Of these charges, 60 were found guilty, 84 were found not guilty at Court Martial. 1 was direcred to lay on file. 37 defendants were found guilty of a sexual offence. Where a defendant was tried on offences within multiple categories, the defendant will be recorded more than once.

2. Key Points and Trends For Murder And Manslaughter

• From 31 March 2022 murder and manslaughter will be included in the annual reporting. During 2021 the Service Police initiated 1 investigation into murder and 0 into manslaughter contrary to common law.
• The investigation into murder involved 1 male suspect and 1 female victim.
• The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) received 1 case referral from the Service Police. This 1 case was non-directed.
• No cases were completed at Court Martial in 2021.

Point of Contact: Service Police Policy
Further information: People-Sec-DCCLSvcPolicePol@mod.gov.uk
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Please refer to the Supplementary tables containing all data presented in this publication.

3. Introduction

These statistics provide information on offences contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 03) and non-recent sexual offences committed by members of the Armed Forces or Civilians Subject to Service Discipline (CSSD) and dealt with wholly within the SJS. From 31 March 2022, these statistics will also provide information on murder and manslaughter dealt with wholly within the SJS. The Armed Forces Act 2006 (AFA 06) provides the legislation for the SJS and this is supported by the Manual of Service Law (MSL), which provides the necessary guidance to those that are required to deliver it.

The SJS is primarily delivered by Commanding Officers (COs), the Service Police (the Royal Navy Police (RNP), Royal Military Police (RMP) and Royal Air Force Police (RAFP)), the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) and the Military Court Service (MCS).

The majority of the SOA 03 came into force on 1 May 2004, in the main replacing the Sexual Offences Act 1956. Murder and manslaughter are offences in common law.

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 offences committed in the UK by Service personnel are made by the Service Justice System and civilian Criminal Justice System policing and prosecutorial authorities on a case by case basis. The Armed Forces Act 2021, places a duty on the Director of Service Prosecutions and the Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales to agree guidance on the handling of cases where there is concurrent jurisdiction. There are equivalent provisions for the Director of Service Prosecutions and Lord Advocate to agree a protocol for Scotland, and for the Director of Service Prosecutions and the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland to agree a protocol for 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. The Service Police will refer a suspect 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 common law on 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 (realistic prospect of conviction and public (including service) interest).

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 appointed by HM The Queen.

The MCS provides a criminal court service for the Royal Navy, Army and RAF in the Court Martial. It has done so on a Tri-Service basis since 2007 and manages two permanent Court Martial centres. The Court Martial runs akin to the UK Civilian Crown Court and cases are heard by a Judge Advocate appointed by the Judge Advocate General. The procedures for the Court Martial are laid down in the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009.

The AFA 06 can be found at: Armed Forces Act 2006
The MSL can be found at: Manual of Service Law
The Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009 can be found at: Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules 2009

4. Service Police Investigations Into Sexual Offences

Between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, the Service Police initiated a total of 239 investigations into sexual offences contrary to the SOA 03 and non-recent offences. 225 were into offences contrary to the SOA 03 and 14 were investigations into non-recent offences. This indicates an increase when comparing against 2019 and 2020 (178 and 161 investigations respectively). Investigations that were reported as sexual offences but then reclassified to a non-sexual offence have not been included in these statistics. Attempted offences are included where reported as such and where they are the headline offence.

4.1 Figure 1: SOA 03 And Non-recent Sexual Offences Investigations By Service Police In 2021

When broken down by Service, in 2021, 43 investigations were conducted by the Royal Navy Police, 156 by the Royal Military Police, 25 by the Royal Air Force Police and 15 investigations were carried out by Joint Service Police Units.

4.2 Figure 2: Service Police SOA 03 Investigations By Type of Offence In 2021

The number of SOA 03 investigations in 2021 for Rape (42 investigations) and Sexual Assault with Penetration (12 investigations) has increased in comparison to 2020 (26 and 10 investigations respectively). Investigations in 2021 for Sexual Assault with No Penetration (144 investigations) have increased by 55 investigations compared to 2020. Investigations into Exposure (11 investigations) has increased by 6 investigations since 2020. Investigations into voyeurism (10 investigations) has increased by 1 since 2020 and non-recent investigations (14 investigations) have decreased by 1 since 2020.

Of the 239 total investigations conducted by the Service Police in 2021, 134 investigations led to the referral of charges against the suspect(s), 50 investigations were not referred, and 55 investigations were still ongoing at the end of 2021. Comparisons with 2020 show that there has been an increase of 34 cases that have been referred, and an increase of 21 of those not referred in 2021. The number of ongoing investigations has increased by 22 since 2020. Some cases may have had more than one suspect referred to the SPA for charge and as such the sum of the referrals may not equal the number of investigations.

Of the 239 total investigations conducted by the Service Police in 2021, 175 investigations occurred in the UK, which is an increase of 56 cases compared to 2020. 9 Investigations occurred in Germany, which is a decrease of 6 from 2020 and 12 occurred in Cyprus, which shows an increase of 10 since 2020. There were 3 investigations conducted in Canada which is an increase of 2 over 2020. There was an increase of 9 investigations occurring in other countries (29 investigations) compared to 2020. 2021 investigations saw a general increase for the remaining locations listed in comparison to 2020 (see supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report).

4.3 Figure 3: Percentage Of 2021 SOA 03 Suspects By Service

232 suspects were identified in investigations conducted by the Service Police in 2021. This figure does not include non-recent offences. Of these suspects, 219 were male, 9 were female and 4 were unknown. By Service, 43 were Royal Navy/Royal Marines, 150 were Army, 29 were RAF, there were fewer than 3 civilians and 8 were unknown.

4.4 Figure 4: Percentage Of 2021 SOA 03 Victims By Service

274 victims were identified in investigations conducted by the Service Police in 2021. This figure does not include non-recent offences. By Service, 43 were Royal Navy/Royal Marines, 164 were recorded as Army, 32 were RAF, 32 were civilians, 3 were from other Forces and 0 were unrecorded or unknown. Further breakdowns by age and rank, together with comparisons to the 2019 and 2020 figures can be found for both Suspects and Victims in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report.

The 14 Non-recent Sexual Offences that were investigated in 2021 consisted of 14 suspects, 13 of whom were male and 1 was unrecorded or unknown. For suspects by Service, 2 were recorded as Royal Navy/ Royal Marines, 11 were recorded as Army, 1 was RAF and 1 was unrecorded or unknown. There were 14 identified victims, of which 6 were male and 8 were female. For victims by Service 1 was recorded as Royal Navy/ Royal Marines, 3 were recorded as Army and 10 were civilian. A more detailed breakdown of these offences, with comparisons to 2019 and 2020 can be found in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report.

5. Service Prosecuting Authority - Sexual Offences

Between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, the Service Police Forces referred 124 cases to the SPA where the case included an allegation of an offences contrary to the SOA 03 and non-recent sexual offences, a decrease of 28 cases from 2020. Applying the Full Code Test contained in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the SPA subsequently decided to prefer charges for sexual offences in 48 of these cases, alternative non-sexual offence charges were preferred in 3 cases and in 56 cases no charges were preferred. The remainder awaited a decision as at 26 Jan 22. Further breakdowns of these figures against those for 2019 and 2020 can be found in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report. These figures do not include figures for Child Sex Offences (Five Child Sex Offence cases were referred in 2021 (s3, 9 - 15 of SOA 03 and s14 of SOA 1956) were referred to the SPA by the Service Police in 2021. Two cases have been charged and three are awaiting decision as at 26 Jan 22) . In 2021 the Service Police and Service Prosecuting Authority introduced a new process of early investigative advice for all Sexual Offences to ensure the strongest cases are built from the outset. This change has resulted in a decrease in the number of referrals that were made during 2021. It is expected then when these cases are referred to the SPA, decisions under the Code will be made more quickly due to a decrease in the requirement for additional evidence.

The SPA statistics represent the number of cases referred. A case referred to the SPA may relate to multiple suspected offences. The statistics associate cases with the most serious (headline) offence. This means that in cases where, for example, it is reported that a case was charged, the headline offence may not have been charged.

5.1 Figure 5: Referrals to Service Prosecuting Authority for Sexual Offences - Charging Decisions 1 January to 31 Dec 2021:

Of the 124 cases the SPA received in 2021, the Royal Navy/Royal Marines referred 15 cases, with sexual offence charges brought in 4 cases, with 9 not charged. 90 Cases were referred from the Army with sexual offence charges brought in 35, with 38 not charged and 3 charged with alternative non-sexual offences. The RAF referred 19 cases, with sexual offence charges brought in 9 cases, with 9 not charged.

6. Court Martial Results For Sexual Offences

Between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, the Court Martial heard a total of 145 sexual offence charges (including charges relating to non-recent sexual offences) against 88 defendants. This is an increase of 37 defendants and 64 charges from 2020 (51 and 81 respectively). The outcome of these trials was that 37 Service Personnel and Civilians Subject to Service Discipline were found guilty of 60 charges and 1 charge to lay on file. Further Breakdowns and comparisons are presented in the Excel supplementary tables that accompany this report.

6.1 Figure 6: Court Martial SOA 03 and non-recent sexual offences Verdicts 1 January to 31 December 2021

Of the 145 charges heard by Court Martial in 2021, the Royal Navy/Royal Marines accounted for 33 charges of which 18 were guilty and 15 were not guilty. The Army accounted for 70 charges, of which 37 were guilty, 32 were not guilty and 1 charge to lay on file. The RAF accounted for 30 charges, of which 3 were guilty and 27 were not guilty.

7. Service Police Investigations Into Murder And Manslaughter

Between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, the Service Police initiated one investigation into murder and manslaughter contrary to common law. Attempted offences are included where reported as such and where they are the headline offence.

7.1 Murder and Manslaughter Investigations by Service Police in 2021

• From 31 March 2022 murder and manslaughter will be included in the annual reporting. During 2021 the Service Police initiated one investigation into murder and 0 into manslaughter contrary to common law.
• This case was still under investigation at the end of 2021 and involved one male suspect, a JNCO between the ages of 31-35 and one female victim, a civilian between the ages of 21-25.
• The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) received one case referral from the Service Police. This one case was non-directed.
• No cases were heard at Court Martial in 2021.

8. Further Information

8.1 Disclosure control

Figures which could lead to the inadvertent identification of a victim or suspect of an offence contrary to the sexual offences act have been suppressed and summarised as “fewer than 3” cases.

8.2 Revisions

Corrections to the published statistics will be made if errors are found, or if figures change because of improvements to methodology or changes to definitions. When making corrections, we will follow the Ministry of Defence Statistics, revisions and corrections policy. All corrected figures will be identified by the symbol “r”, and an explanation will be given of the reason for and size of the revision. Corrections which would have a significant impact on the utility of the statistics will be corrected as soon as possible, by reissuing the publication. Minor errors will also be corrected, but for convenience these corrections may be timed to coincide with the next release of the publication.

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