Victims and witnesses benefit from £27 million award

04/02/2004

As part of the Government's ongoing programme to transform the experiences of victims and witnesses of crime and to reduce the number of trials that collapse, a new scheme was given the go ahead today following a £27m award from the Government's Invest to Save initiative.

The 'No Witness, No Justice' Project will introduce dedicated Witness Care Units across England and Wales, bringing police and The Crown Prosecution Service together for the first time to jointly meet the individual needs of victims and witnesses. Commissioned by the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, the project is a joint initiative between The CPS, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office's Office of Public Service Reform.

The new Witness Care Units will introduce a range of measures to provide practical help and moral support to victims and witnesses including:

• a single point of contact for witnesses;
• an initial needs assessment to identify specific support requirements, such as child care, transport, language difficulties and medical issues and to highlight areas of concern, including intimidation;
• witness care officers to steer individuals through the criminal justice process and to co-ordinate support and services;
• continuous review of victim and witness needs throughout the case by The CPS and police;
• greater communication and contact with witnesses about cases including the case outcome or trial result.

Recent figures show that the highest proportion of ineffective trials (trials which have to be adjourned to a later date) happen because prosecution witnesses fail to attend court. Last year it was the reason for 22 percent of ineffective Crown Court trials and 26 percent of ineffective trials at magistrates' courts. By focusing on the specific needs of individuals the 'No Witness, No Justice' project aims to improve the confidence and satisfaction victims and witnesses feel, while at the same time bringing benefits for the criminal justice system as a whole, with fewer trials derailed because of witness difficulties.

The project will bring anticipated savings by reducing the time police, prosecutors and counsel waste attending ineffective trial hearings and the extra administration costs associated with having to reschedule hearings. It will free up the time that front line officers currently spend following up witnesses who fail to attend court and will make more effective use of the court's time.

This new approach to victim and witness care is already being piloted in Gwent, Essex, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and North Wales through locally designed projects. The good practice that is emerging from these pilot sites is being used to develop minimum standards of care for the national project.

The "No Witness, No Justice Project' will be rolled out to all 42 criminal justice areas in England and Wales to form part of a wider programme to bring about improvements to the criminal justice system from arrest to sentencing. The Criminal Case Management Programme is linking the work of the Victim and Witness Project with new arrangements under the Criminal Justice Act to transfer the responsibility for decisions about charging from the police to The CPS, and with the Effective Trial Management Project, a project to improve case management through the courts.

The project will also help Victim Support and the Witness Service to carry out their vital work in supporting victims and witnesses by ensuring earlier identification of victim and witness needs and better referral.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC said:

"Victims and witnesses have not always received the support they need from the criminal justice system. That must change. Giving evidence at court is a daunting experience for anyone. The criminal justice system has a responsibility to ensure victims and witnesses feel safe and able to give evidence. Victims and witnesses have a right to expect a smooth and coordinated service from the criminal justice agencies. This project will mean we can progress from "No Witness, No Justice" to putting victims and witnesses at the heart of the criminal justice system."

Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald QC said:

"I am delighted that the bid for funding has been successful and that all victims and witnesses in England and Wales will now benefit from the new approach to witness care that CPS and police have been spearheading at the pilot sites. We have been pressing the case for this for some time. This project is an important part of a wider area of work that we are involved in, to ensure that prosecutors and police work together in the early stages of a case to get key elements in place, such as the right charge and good witness care."

John Broughton, ACPO spokesperson on victims and witnesses issues, and Assistant Chief Constable (Operations), Essex Police said:

"Victims and witnesses are at the heart of the criminal justice system; I am delighted that this has been recognised by the government in this financial award. The funding will allow the keynote work being carried out in the pilot sites by police and CPS staff to be expanded across England and Wales. Combined with the ongoing work relating to case management and charging, this will enable a quality service to be provided to all victims and witnesses attending court."

Baroness Scotland, Minister for Criminal Justice said:

"Victims and witnesses are key to the entire success of the criminal justice system and we are determined to ensure they do not get a raw deal. Currently too many prosecutions fail or are discontinued, and one-third of offenders walk away without having to attend or defend their case or give evidence.

"This support is indicative of the Government's ongoing commitment to improving services for victims of crime. The project demonstrates the success that can be achieved when we work together. I am delighted that we now have the opportunity to roll it out on a national scale, helping to ensure that victims and witnesses feel looked after and get the right support at the right time."

Douglas Alexander, Minister for the Cabinet Office said:

"This project is a great example of the impact that the Invest to Save initiative has in delivering more responsive services to the UK public. Managed by the Cabinet Office and Treasury, the Invest to Save initiative funds projects that involve public bodies working together to deliver services that are innovative, responsive to local needs and more efficient."

Courts Minister, Chris Leslie, said:

"This project is one of three essential strands within The Criminal Case Management Programme that all come together to ensure victims and witnesses have the support they need and have greater certainty that when they attend court, their case is dealt with on the day it is scheduled.

"For too long witnesses have rightly complained that they are not kept informed of why they are needed at court or how their evidence affected the outcome of the trial. The work being led by the Attorney General will go a long way to restoring this imbalance."

As part of the "No Witness, No Justice' project each area will undertake community consultation to establish what local communities consider important in providing support and care to victims and witnesses before designing and setting up a local service. The "No Witness, No Justice' project will also co-ordinate future training of front line CPS and police staff in witness care issues. Evaluation of the initial pilot sites will be complete in June 2004.

Notes to Editors

1. Media enquiries to CPS Press Office on 020 7710 6091.
   ACPO press office 020 7227 3406/3425
   Home Office press office 020 7273 2196
2. Case studies from the pilot sites are available from CPS press office.
3. The "No Witness, No Justice' Project is one of 13 successful bids for funding in Round 6 of the Invest to Save Budget (ISB), a joint Treasury/Cabinet Office initiative. Media enquiries about ISB round 6 funding to the Treasury press office on 020 7270 5238.
4. The "No Witness, No Justice' Project is a £36m project in total over 3 years. £27.1m is being funded from the Invest to Save Round 6 budget. Project partners are providing the remaining funding.
5. In the 2002/03 there were 2,845 ineffective Crown Court trials because prosecution witnesses failed to attend court - 22 percent of all ineffective Crown Court trials. In the same year there were 13,328 ineffective magistrates' court trials for the same reason - 26 percent of all ineffective trials in magistrates' courts.
6. The Witness Satisfaction Survey 2002 was published by the Home Office in May 2003. Key findings included: 78 percent of witnesses were satisfied with their experience overall. However, 21 percent felt intimidated by the process of giving evidence or by the court environment and 23 percent felt that their contribution was taken for granted, and only 52 percent felt fully appreciated.
7. Criminal Case Management is a major programme designed to improve the criminal justice process from arrest through to the disposal of the case in the courts. It brings together three projects - charging, victim and witness care and effective trial management - into one programme to address key problems across the CJS process rather than looking at them in isolation. The Criminal Case Management Programme was announced in November 2003 and is championed at Ministerial level by the Attorney General.
8. The "National Strategy for Victims and Witnesses" was published in July 2003 and is available at www.cjsonline.org
9. This project complements the Government's ongoing commitment to improving services for victims of crime. Examples include:

• The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill which will establish a Commissioner for Victims and a statutory Code of Practice placing obligations on statutory agencies.
• Introducing a number of special measures under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses give better evidence. These comprise screening witnesses and live TV links in court rooms, video recorded evidence in chief, and removal of wigs and gowns. Judges are able to clear the public gallery in cases involving intimidation so witnesses can give evidence more privately.
• A support service for victims and witnesses in magistrates' courts to match the service already provided in the Crown Court (through Victim Support);
• Introduction of Victim personal statements (in October 2001);
• Improving payments made by the criminal injuries compensation scheme to the victims of sexual offences;
• Giving victims in serious cases the right to be consulted about the release plans of their offenders.
• Deployment of Family Liaison Officers by the police in homicide cases;
• Establishing Multi Agency Protection Panels - police, probation and others working together to ensure protection for individual victims; and a new Victims' Advisory Panel (March 2003) to provide a victim perspective at the heart of policy making.