Kent

Annual Report 2001-2002 CPS

Introduction by the Chief Crown Prosecutor

This past year has been one of growth and consolidation. Last year I heralded what promised to be a more favourable financial outlook for The Crown Prosecution Service enabling us to enrich our resources by recruiting more staff. Overall, our staff numbers have expanded by 20 per cent.

The Government pledged to recruit 300 more lawyers to The Crown Prosecution Service by 2004. In Kent, we have been particularly successful; 11 lawyers either new to The Crown Prosecution Service or new to this Area have been appointed in the last year and we are planning to appoint two more this year. We have also seen a few departures, none so tragic as the sad death of one of our senior lawyers, Keith Malkin, in July of last year.

When we advertised for administrative staff we had over 2,000 requests for application forms and over 600 applications. Three further Designated Caseworker (DCW) appointments were made during the course of the year, these are senior caseworkers who whilst not qualified lawyers, have undergone a period of specialist training to enable them to conduct minor cases in the magistrates’ court. We now have five DCWs. In addition, two more Crown Prosecutors achieved Higher Court Advocacy rights to appear in the Crown Court, bringing the total number of Higher Court Advocates in Kent to eight.

The volume of prosecutions that we receive from the Police last year increased; further, we have been advising the Police prior to charge more frequently. Many of the cases that we handle are very serious and extremely complex, demanding ever wider skills and deeper knowledge from those required to conduct them. It has been notable that in the past year we have dealt with a record number of cases involving fatalities, most of which have occurred within a family environment.

In November of last year The Crown Prosecution Service launched a new Domestic Violence policy. At any level domestic violence is a serious crime; every week two women die in this country at the hands of their current or former partners. Victims of domestic violence and their families, particularly children, must be safeguarded and offenders brought to justice.

Kent’s unique position as the gateway from Britain to Europe and from Europe to Britain has led to an expansion in prosecutions with an international dimension, necessitating ever increasing involvement by The CPS in Kent in the facilitation of overseas investigations and cross-border issues.

The growing involvement of organised crime in human smuggling has placed an increasing burden upon law enforcement agencies both at home and abroad. The tragic case involving the deaths of 58 Chinese illegal immigrants in the back of a lorry being driven by Perry Wacker, who was convicted and sent to prison for a total of 14 years clearly illustrates the iniquities of the trade and the toll in human life and suffering.

In order to enhance our ability to respond to this increasingly complicated and fast moving aspect of criminal activity, I have set up a specialist Unit based at our Canterbury office to deal exclusively with extra jurisdictional and cross-border crime from the early stages of an investigation. This Unit began functioning on 11 February 2002 and comprises two senior lawyers and a caseworker, who are undergoing an intensive period of training and development to equip them for their unique task.

Last year I spoke about the establishment of joint Police/CPS Units enabling the Police and The Crown Prosecution Service lawyers and caseworkers to work more effectively in partnership unburdened by the bureaucratic processes which tend to mark more arms length working arrangements.

The Maidstone and Folkestone test bed sites were pronounced a success after formal evaluation and two further sites at Medway (Chatham) and Canterbury were established in July of last year. A fifth site covering West and North Kent should be accommodated in Gravesend in October of this year.

Closer working arrangements with the Police has brought many benefits, shortening lines of communication and procuring a more collaborative effort and we have already begun to see a reduction in ineffective trials and delay. One of the examples of effective team work between the criminal justice agencies is the national achievement of the Government pledge to reduce the time persistent young offenders are dealt with from 172 days to 71 days. Kent has achieved the target during one quarter of the past year and just fell short of the target by an average of three days during the quarter ending December 2001.

The devolution of The Crown Prosecution Service in Kent into small geographically split working units has brought a risk of fragmentation and isolation which has required a robust, visible management, a strong performance culture and improved communication systems.

This year has seen a revolution within The Crown Prosecution Service in terms of information technology. By March of this year, the whole of The CPS in Kent was able to benefit from a fully integrated IT system with computer terminals upon every desk, giving access to the Government and CPS Intranet, as well as external e-mail links and access to legal databases and the Internet. Witnesses to crime are the life blood of the criminal justice system, without their evidence offenders cannot be brought to justice.

Our commitment to provide support to witnesses and victims remains steadfast and we are constantly striving to strengthen our capability to respond to their needs. Examples include the introduction in January this year of Victim Personal Statements which will enable victims to provide additional information upon the effect that crime has had upon their lives, be it in terms of health, financial loss or mental trauma. This will enable practitioners within the criminal justice system to more readily recognise the true impact that crime has upon individuals. Another example involves the Witness Service which has operated so successfully in the Crown Court in Kent and has now been extended under the auspices of Victim Support to magistrates’ court. We have been pleased to offer our support to render this service effective by reaching as many victims as possible.

In November of last year, the Kent criminal justice agencies combined to sponsor a conference run by the Home Office to assess how well we were catering for the needs of victims and witnesses across the whole service and what improvements we could bring. Participants included representatives from the police, prison service, CPS, Crown Court, Magistrates’ Courts, as well as various groups representing the interests of victims and the community.

We are currently actively planning for two initiatives, both scheduled to start in July of this year, which should provide greater reassurance to witnesses and promote public confidence in the criminal justice system. One of these is a CPS generated project, whereby we shall correspond directly with victims when we significantly alter or discontinue criminal proceedings, rather than relying upon the police to explain our decisions. We shall also offer meetings with victims when appropriate.

The other initiative stems from the Youth Justice & Criminal Evidence Act of 1999, which provides support for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to enable them to give evidence where hitherto they may have felt inhibited, by disability or fear.

Dame Helen Reeves, the Chief Executive for Victim Support, gave a keynote speech to open our Area Training Event in March of this year and whilst applauding The Crown Prosecution Service for its contribution and efforts for the benefit of victims and witnesses, she offered her vision for the future, which included greater involvement of victims in the court proceedings.

Lord Justice Auld’s Review of the Criminal Courts published in October 2001, made 338 recommendations for improvement. Much controversy attached to his recommendations concerning the role of the lay magistracy and juries and the creation of an intermediate judicial tier. There were many other recommendations that we in The CPS viewed as equally important, albeit they received less publicity.

One of these recommendations was that The CPS should become responsible for charging offenders (currently this is the responsibility of the police). Early involvement would mean less likelihood that charges would be changed or dropped after proceedings had commenced. This recommendation is being tested in the Medway area of Kent in order to assess what benefits may flow and whether legislative changes are needed in order to make the arrangements workable.

Early signs are that effective and early involvement by The CPS before charging decisions are made clearly add value to the quality of the decision and enable the police to focus their resources upon those cases which are likely to be effective, thus concentrating police and CPS effort to where it counts.

The CPS in Kent has played host to a number of visitors in the past year. In August 2001, the newlyappointed Attorney General (see picture on page 3), Lord Goldsmith, favoured Kent with one of his first official visits during the course of which he met key personnel from within the criminal justice fraternity within Kent.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir David Calvert Smith, has also visited us on two occasions, during one such visit he was accompanied by the Permanent Secretaries from the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor’s Department, John Gieve and Sir Hayden Phillips. We have also been pleased to welcome the High Sheriff and his wife to our offices at Canterbury and Maidstone, as well as the newly appointed Member of Parliament for Mid Kent, Hugh Robertson. We have also hosted visits from overseas, including a French Judge and a Belgian Prosecutor who asked to study our legal system.

The Crown Prosecution Service carries a heavy responsibility and every member of staff is aware of the important duty that he or she owes to the public. We must be fair and we must be accountable and without compromising our independence or the need for confidentiality, we are keen to make ourselves more accessible to members of the public.

During the course of this year we have attended a number of Career Fairs, schools and community events, for example, the Multi-Cultural Education & Youth Association World Music Day at Gravesend. We also supported a Magistrates’ Court Open Day at Sittingbourne in March 2002.

We are determined to eradicate any traces of discrimination within The Crown Prosecution Service on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender, disability or sexuality. The CPS in Kent is a member of the Race Sub-Group (now the Race & Diversity Sub-Group) of the Kent Criminal Justice Strategy Committee, which is an inter-agency forum established to ensure that equality and diversity values are promoted throughout the criminal justice system within Kent. We also participate in a number of community based groups representing minority interests.

All established staff have received equality and diversity training and all new staff will be trained so that we can be confident that our behaviour and casework decisions reflect such values.

By the time this report is published, The Crown Prosecution Service will have published its Race Equality Scheme for 2002-2005. This document demonstrates how the Service is promoting race equality, not only in the way it prosecutes offenders and meets the needs of diverse communities, but also within its own internal policies and practices.

On 10 May 2002, Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate published a Report on the Thematic Review of Casework having a Minority Ethnic Dimension. I shall be studying the findings and recommendations of this report in order to introduce improvements to the way in which we approach such cases in this Area.

During the course of the year, a total of 81 defendants were referred to The CPS by the Police as having committed racially motivated offences; 57 of these defendants were prosecuted and 24 were not, in respect of 32 charges. The reasons for dropping these charges were as follows:

• Witness fails to attend: 3
• Witness refuses to give evidence: 8
• Other insufficient evidence: 14
• Not in the public interest: 6
• Written off/other reasons: 1

I am conducting a review of the cases represented by these figures in order to assure myself that decisions have been made correctly and fairly.

The changes that I have described and those which we face are challenging, but if we do not change we do not learn, and unless we learn we cannot improve.

Elizabeth Howe: Chief Crown Prosecutor

Casework

Notable cases dealt with during the year included the following:

R v Richard Cooper, who accidentally recorded himself saying “You are the weakest link, goodbye” as he strangled his wife, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2002;

R v Stephen Brookes and John Iveson, two schoolboys who were found guilty in November 2001 of murdering a tramp in Dartford by setting him alight for a joke;

R v Paul Couldridge, an HGV driver who had been diagnosed with a sleep disorder and who fell asleep at the wheel, killing an engaged couple in a motorway crash, was jailed for eight years and banned from driving for life in January 2002;

R v Kenneth Noye, who failed at the Court of Appeal in October 2001 to overturn his conviction for the M25 road rage murder of Stephen Cameron;

R v Andrew Stevenson, who was convicted in February 2002 of 24 counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault of seven different victims, and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment;

R v Fraser Smith Bonner, who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in April 2001 for the kidnap, indecent assault and attempted rape of an eight-yearold girl while she was on her way to Brownies;

R v Geoffrey Bishop, who was found guilty in October 2001 and sentenced to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment for facilitating the illegal entry of 30 illegal entrants, and escaping from lawful custody;

R v Michael Stone, who was convicted in October 2001, for the second time, of the murder of Lin and Megan Russell and the attempted murder of Josie Russell at Chillenden, following two trials and an appeal hearing.

About The Crown Prosecution Service

The Code for Crown Prosecutors

The CPS prosecutes all cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The Code is of fundamental importance to the core business of The CPS as it provides guidance to prosecutors on the general principles to be applied in all prosecution decisions, and acts as a public statement of policy allowing everyone to see and understand the basis upon which these decisions are made.

A revised Code for Crown Prosecutors was published in 2000 in order to reflect important developments in legislation, criminal procedure and The CPS’ own structure. As part of that revision process, an extensive programme of public consultation was carried out and almost every aspect of the Code commented upon. New features of the Code include a reference to our position and obligations under the Human Rights act 1998, clarification of the relationship between victims and public interest and a paragraph on youths to reflect new procedures for reprimands and final warnings.

The Auld Review

Lord Justice Auld’s Criminal Courts Review was published in October 2001. It recommends an overhaul of the criminal courts with a unified criminal court in three divisions and a single administration to replace the existing and separate Crown and magistrates’ courts structures. Another proposal is that The CPS rather than the police should decide charges in all but minor, routine offences, or where a holding charge is needed. The change should help improve the quality of files and lead to earlier decisions on when to charge and what charges should be brought. The Home Secretary has agreed that the procedure be piloted for six months in five CPS Areas in advance of the Government’s decision regarding the Auld recommendations.

About The Crown Prosecution Service:The Facts

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting people in England and Wales charged by the police with a criminal offence. Nationally we prosecute more than 1.4 million cases every year and our annual planned expenditure for 2001-02 was £416.3 million. This included £30.4 million from the new criminal justice reserve, to speed up the reform of the Service.

Currently we:

• Advise the police on possible prosecutions.
• Review prosecutions started by the police to ensure the right defendants are prosecuted on the right charges.
• Prepare cases for court.
• Prosecute cases at magistrates’ courts and instruct counsel to prosecute in the Crown Court and higher courts. Some CPS lawyers are now qualified to appear in the Crown Court in certain cases.
• Liaise with other agencies and other Government Departments to achieve improvements in the criminal justice system.
• The CPS is headed by Sir David Calvert-Smith QC, Director of Public Prosecutions; the Chief Executive is Richard Foster, who took up post in January 2002.
• The CPS employs around 7,100 staff and has an Equal Opportunities Policy. Parts of the Service have achieved the Investor in People standard while others are pursuing accreditation.
• A Diversity Unit was set up in October 1999. The Unit’s remit is to turn The CPS Equality Statement into a reality. The aim is to ensure that The CPS does not discriminate in either its employment practice or its prosecutions. A Steering Group has been set up to oversee the Service’s commitment to change following reports by barrister Sylvia Denman and also the Commission for Racial Equality that highlighted discrimination against ethnic minority staff in The CPS. It is chaired by Attorney General Lord Goldsmith.
• The Attorney General’s Race Advisory Group includes representatives from external organisations. It examines and comments on proposals by The CPS to improve equal opportunities in response to the Denman and CRE report recommendations. There is commitment from the top of The CPS to having a Service which is fair and has proper approaches to diversity.
• The CPS continues to develop new electronic information and media. It has an intranet service with an internal website, CPS Online. CPS Online gives staff better access to information, improved internal communications and allows The CPS to manage its information and knowledge better.
• The CPS’ internet website is at http://www.cps.gov.uk and is available in English and Welsh. It provides a considerable amount of information about our business, staff and structures.
• The CPS, and its criminal justice partners, are working together to help realise the Government’s pledge to halve the time it takes to deal with persistent young offenders in youth courts and in Crown Court.
• The CPS is taking forward initiatives to speed up justice proposed by Martin Narey in his Review of Delay in the Criminal Justice System. These include new designated caseworkers — specially trained CPS staff, who are not lawyers, review and present in the magistrates’ courts a limited range of cases involving straightforward guilty pleas.
• CPS Areas are working in partnership with police forces to establish joint and co-located criminal justice units to reduce duplication and delay in bringing cases to court. They are also establishing Trials Units (TUs) to deal with the preparation and presentation of the more serious cases at Crown Court. Most TUs will be located in CPS premises, but some are planned for Crown Court centres.
• The CPS has 42 Areas corresponding to the 43 police forces in England and Wales (London Area covers both City of London and Metropolitan Police Forces). Each Area has a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP) who is responsible for prosecutions. In London the CCP is supported by Assistant Chief Crown Prosecutors. Area Business Managers are responsible for the efficient running of the Area.
• The CPS Vision and Strategy is “to be a prosecuting authority of stature, providing the best possible service to society. We want to be a professional organisationwhich values all its people, performs to a high standard inspires public confidence, and works in partnership”.

Where we fit in the criminal justice system

• The Law Officers: The Attorney General is assisted by the Solicitor General. The Attorney General has final responsibility for enforcing criminal law and superintends the Director of Public Prosecutions.
• The police: Police forces investigate crime and arrest or detain suspected offenders. Once a suspect is held they decide whether to caution them, take no further action, issue a fixed penalty notice — in the case of motoring offences — or charge them and send the papers to prosecuting authorities, mainly The CPS.
• The Lord Chancellor’s Department: The Lord Chancellor is head of the judiciary and responsible for the administration of the court system in England and Wales.This includes the magistrates’ courts.
• The Court Service: Responsible for the High Court and administration of the Crown Court and County Courts in England and Wales.
• The Home Office: Responsible for matters relating to law and order.
• The Prison Service: The Service is responsible for keeping in custody people on remand awaiting trial and those sentenced to imprisonment by the courts.
• The National Probation Service: The Service provides courts with advice and information on offenders to help sentencing decisions and implements community orders made by the courts.
• There are other prosecuting authorities. They include: the Department of Trade and Industry; the Serious Fraud Office; HM Customs and Excise; the Health and Safety Executive; the Department of Social Security; the Inland Revenue; the Department of Food and Rural Affairs; the Intervention Board; the Bank of England; the Army; the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy prosecuting authorities; the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority.

Leaflets and publications

The CPS publishes a range of leaflets and publications about its work that are available free of charge to members of the public.

Leaflets currently available include: a description of the work of The CPS (Introduction); the people who work for the Service (People); information about careers with The CPS (Careers); the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) — and an abbreviated version of the Code (Prosecutions); The CPS policy on dealing with Domestic Violence and advice for vulnerable witnesses attending court (Witnesses); and a leaflet on how to make a complaint (Complaints). Most publications are available in alternative formats and in other languages.

For more information, contact The CPS Communications Branch, 50 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7EX; telephone: 020 7796 8442.

Dealing with complaints

Our comprehensive complaints procedure is set out in a leaflet available from Area offices and on our website: http://www.cps.gov.uk

If you have a complaint about our handling of a case you should write to The CPS office which originally dealt with it. Please include as much information as possible such as the defendant’s name, the court where the case was heard, and any hearing dates and reference numbers you may have.

If you are not satisfied with replies you receive you should contact The CPS Area’s Chief Crown Prosecutor. They will look into the complaint

If you are still not satisfied you can write to the Customer Service Unit Manager, 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX.

Complaints that cannot be resolved locally are referred through this Unit to the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Chief Executive.

Performance in the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Courts

All prosecutions start in the magistrates’ courts. These include offences ranging from minor motoring matters to assaults and theft. Usually the more serious cases proceed to the Crown Court. Some cases can only be tried in the Crown Court. Other cases go to the Crown Court either because the defendant chooses to be tried there or because the magistrates decide they are serious enough to need Crown Court trial. If a defendent pleads not guilty, the case will be tried before a judge and jury.

Chart 1 Caseload (receipts and finalisations)

• Cases received from the police from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 31,721
• Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 32,160
• Cases received from the police from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 33,034
• Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 32,976

Chart 1 shows as received the number of defendants whose cases the Area received from the police and the number of defendants whose cases were finalised between April 1 2001-March 31 2002 and in the previous year. Our caseload depends on the number of cases the police send to us. Several factors affect this, such as the level of arrest and the number of people the police caution.

Chart 2 Case Categories

Chart 2 shows the different types of work dealt with by the Area between April 1 2001-March 31 2002 and in the previous year.

They are:

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

• Total cases dealt with 32,160
• Of which summary only 17.030 (53.0%)
• Indictable/either way 14,440 (44.9%)
• Advice 514 (1.6%)
• Other 176 (0.5%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

• Total cases dealt with 32,976
• Of which summary only 18,862 (57.2%)
• Indictable/either way 13,295 (40.3%)
• Advice 669 (2.0%)
• Other 150 (0.5%)

Summary – cases which can only be tried in the magistrates’ courts.

Indictable/Either Way – Indictable only offences (such as robbery) must be tried in the Crown Court, but either way offences (such as theft) may be tried in either the magistrates’ courts or in the Crown Court.

Advice – cases in which the police ask for our advice about whether proceedings should be started. Other Proceedings – non-criminal matters, such as forfeiture under the Obscene Publications Acts.

Chart 3 Case Results

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

• Total Case Results 23,094
• Of which guilty pleas 20,884 (90.4%)
• Proofs in absence 908 (3.9%)
• After Trial 964 (4.2%)
• Other (dismissals) 338 (1.5%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

• Total Case Results 24,688
• Of which guilty pleas 20,586 (83.4%)
• Proofs in absence 2,892 (11.7%)
• After Trial 837 (3.4%)
• Other (dismissals) 373 (1.5%)

Chart 3 shows the disposal of those cases which were heard in the magistrate’s court, not including those which were discontinued or committed to the Crown Court.

Chart 4 Caseload (receipts and finalisations)

• Cases received from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 2,652
• Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2000 to March 31 2001 is 2,948
• Cases received from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 2,793
• Cases dealt with by The CPS from April 1 2001 to March 31 2002 is 2,625

Chart 4 shows as received the number of defendants who came before the Crown Court and the number whose Crown Court case was dealt with by the Area between April 1 2001-March 31 2002 and in the previous year. Chart 5 shows case categories in the Crown Court. They are:

Committed for trial – Indictable only and some either way cases are sent from the magistrates’ courts for trial to the Crown Court. Since January 2001, indictable only offences have been sent to the Crown Court under section 51, Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which, in most cases, means that committal proceedings are not held.

Appeals – Defendants may appeal to the Crown Court against the conviction and/or sentence that they received in the magistrates’ court.

Committed for sentence – Some defendants tried and convicted in the magistrates’ courts are committed for sentence to the Crown Court because the magistrates decide that greater punishment is required than they have the power to impose.

Chart 5 Case Categories

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

• Total cases dealt with 2,948
• Committed for Trial 1,968 (66.8%)
• Appeals 315 (10.7%)
• Committed for sentence 665 (22.6%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

• Total cases dealt with 2,625
• Committed for Trial 1,755 (66.9%)
• Appeals 383 (14.6%)
• Committed for sentence 487 (18.6%)

Chart 6 Case Results

April 1 2000 to March 31 2001

• Total cases dealt with 1,701
• Guilty Pleas 1,057 (62.1%)
• After Trial 373 (21.9%)
• Acquittals 271 (15.9%)

April 1 2001 to March 31 2002

• Total cases dealt with 1,306
• Guilty Pleas 720 (55.1%)
• After Trial 375 (28.7%)
• Acquittals 211 (16.2%)

In addition to the figures shown in these charts, the performance of the Area is assessed against a number of targets to measure the timeliness and quality of dealing with various aspects of our work. The Area has met all but one of these targets, as follows:

To supply committal papers to the defence within 14 days (10 days in custody cases) of receipt of a full file from the police

• Target: 84% of cases
• Performance: 92.4%
• Performance 2000-2001: 82.8%

To despatch a brief to Counsel within 14 days of committal to the Crown Court (21 days in non-standard fee cases)

• Target: 81% of cases
• Performance: 85.5%
• Performance 2000-2001: 72.9%

To reply to complaints within 10 days of receipt

• Target: 91%
• Performance:92.2%
• Performance 2000-2001: 89.3%

Proportion of adverse results in the Crown Court due to failure in The CPS review process

• Target: 0.7%
• Performance: 0.54%
• Performance 2000-2001: 0.64%

Proportion of cases dismissed as no case to answer in the magistrates’ courts due to failure in The CPS review process

• Target: 0.01%
• Performance: 0.012%
• Performance 2000-2001: 0.021%

Although the failure to meet the latter target was slightly disappointing, the number of such cases is very small in proportion to the number of cases finalised, and the Area failed to meet the target by only one case. All the figures show an improvement over last year’s performance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

KENT AREA

Elizabeth Howe, Chief Crown Prosecutor Priory Gate, 29 Union Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PT

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE CHIEF CROWN PROSECUTOR

FREE PUBLICATIONS ABOUT THE CPS AND FURTHER COPIES OF THIS REPORT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM: Chris Jones, Priory Gate, 29 Union street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PT www.cps.gov.uk