Hundreds of suspected rapists in England and Wales are spending years released under investigation, under a system that the government has been urged to scrap as it “doesn’t serve anyone’s interests apart from the police”.

Introduced under the Policing & Crime Act 2017, released under investigation (RUI) allows police an alternative to bail, without the set timeframes or conditions attached to police bail.

However, it has meant that suspects are often spending many years “under investigation”, with no statutory time limits holding the police to account on charging decisions.

Campaigners have called for RUI to be scrapped, saying it leads to uncertainty and distress for both the victim and the accused, and, particularly when coupled with delays in the court system, evidence can deteriorate over time and victims can withdraw their support for prosecutions, creating an overall barrier to justice being done.

It is a particular problem in cases such as rape and sexual assault, in which there is often little physical evidence, and which often rely heavily on the account of the victim.

Freedom of information data from police forces, obtained by the Guardian, found that more than 1,800 people reported to the police for rape have remained released under investigation for at least three years, with almost 800 of those having been released under investigation in either 2020 or 2021.

As not all police forces responded to the request in full, the actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher.

In his recent review of the criminal courts, Sir Brian Leveson recommended ending the RUI system, which he said created inefficiency and uncertainty. Campaigners have echoed this call, and urged the government to act on Leveson’s recommendation to scrap the system.

Leveson suggested suspects should instead be placed on conditional or unconditional bail, as was the case prior to 2017.

“Our Rape Crisis centres work closely with thousands of survivors of rape and sexual abuse who experience the devastating consequences of prolonged police investigations,” Maxime Rowson, the the head of policy and public affairs at Rape Crisis England and Wales.

“The use of release under investigation leaves known abusers free of restrictions while survivors wait months or even years for police investigations to progress.”

She added: “Those long, uncertain waits can be re-traumatising, they put survivors and others at further risk, and they may undermine the evidence these cases rely on as memories fade over time. When you add police delays to the delays caused by the crown court backlog, survivors are being asked to endure a process that no longer resembles a functioning justice system.”

Hannah Couchman, a barrister and senior legal officer at the charity Rights of Women, said the system “doesn’t serve anyone’s interests apart from the police*”.*

“We are really shocked and concerned to see how regularly released under investigation is being used essentially as an alternative to bail, but with fewer safeguards, with less oversight, less scrutiny, less opportunity to consider the rights of both the victim and the suspect,” she said.

She said the system “allows the police to get off the hook because they don’t have to bother thinking about bail conditions, which leaves victims unprotected and leaves suspects in a situation as well where they’re not sure what they are and are not allowed to do”.

“It means that victims might bow out of the entire criminal justice process because the delays are so significant,” she added.

Andrea Simon, the director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “We’ve seen a dramatic fail in the use of bail in rape, domestic abuse and harassment and stalking cases, and a corresponding increase in use of released under investigation since the law change in 2017.

“Investigations stretching across several years is an unacceptable state of affairs, causing survivors immense harm and trauma, and creating prolonged uncertainty for all involved.”

She added: “There is an urgent need for the police and CPS to work together to improve the timeliness and quality of charging decisions. Victims of rape and sexual violence are already having to shoulder the longest delays to their case compared with other crime types in light of the crown court backlog. The impact of this on their mental and physical wellbeing cannot be overstated.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government strategy which will set out concrete action to pursue perpetrators, support victims, and prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. We are considering the recommendations set out by Sir Brian Leveson in part One of his review.”