FEWER than 20 people were convicted of rape in the county last year despite more than 1,500 new offences being recorded by police.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show 58 rape cases from South Yorkshire were heard in court last year, resulting in 18 convictions.
However there were 1,556 alleged rapes recorded by South Yorkshire Police, meaning only a fraction are likely to lead to a conviction.
Show your support…
Since 1858, we have been the voice of Barnsley. We believe everyone should have access to the news regardless of their ability to afford it so we made the decision to keep our reporting free online.
With your support, our journalists can continue to do this - journalists like Jack. "I'm Jack, a reporter at the Barnsley Chronicle - It’s important to me to write about what really matters to the people of our community, every day is different and I’ve met and spoken to so many amazing individuals."@jacktolson
You can support independent local journalism in Barnsley for the same price as a coffee - it only takes a minute.