Case over alleged CPS change in rape prosecution policy rejected Top Story March 16, 2021 LONDON: A legal challenge against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over an alleged change in policy on prosecuting alleged rapes and other serious sexual offences has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) argued the CPS moved away from a “merits-based approach” to deciding which cases of alleged rape and other serious sexual assault should be prosecuted, which it said has given rise to “systemic illegality”. The group claimed that, between 2016 and 2018, prosecutors became more risk-averse and shifted towards an “unlawful predictive approach when deciding whether to charge” alleged sexual offences. Their lawyers said this unlawful approach has led to a “shocking and unprecedented decline in both the rate and volume of rape offences charged by the CPS”.