New units give power back to witnesses
25/02/2005
More than a hundred specialist Witness Care Units will be set up by the Crown Prosecution Service and police by the end of the year and will transform the support provided to victims and witnesses across England and Wales.
The Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC and Assistant Chief Constable John Broughton gave details of the national roll-out plans at the opening of a new Witness Care Unit in Chester today.
The units will provide a more co-ordinated response to witness care than ever before through the 36m 'No Witness No Justice' project, a joint Crown Prosecution Service and police initiative supported by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and the Prime Minister's Office for Public Service Reform (OPSR).
By the end of March all 42 criminal justice areas across England and Wales will have at least one of the new units in operation. Approximately 165 units will be opened by the end of the year. Three Witness Care Units were officially opened today in Cheshire alone, bringing the number of units already operational across England and Wales to 40.
Speaking at the opening of the Chester unit today, Lord Goldsmith said:
"Through the work of the Witness Care Unit network, victims and witnesses are able to take back power from the criminals who have wronged them. Victims and witnesses of any crime often feel powerless in the face of the crime they have suffered. They may not feel able to go through the ordeal of a court trial, and often withdraw from a trial because they do not have the support they need. Defendants know this. They play the system. They play on the power they have taken away from the victim. It is time that we reverse the trend, give that power back to the victims, so that the criminals cannot play the system.
" 'No Witness No Justice' Witness Care Units are helping more witnesses attend court. The pilots showed that this results in more defendants entering late guilty pleas and fewer trials adjourned or abandoned because of witness problems. As the network continues to expand, we will give more and more witnesses the power to face the person who has done them wrong - in other words more witnesses, more justice."
John Broughton, ACPO spokesperson on victims and witnesses issues, and Assistant Chief Constable, Essex Police said:
"Improving our services to victims and witnesses is unquestionably the right thing to do. Listening to what people say, asking the right questions and solving their problems will give witnesses a better choice.For too long they have been the forgotten part of the Criminal Justice System. The 'No Witness No Justice' Programme seeks to redress this imbalance and improve local services for victims and witnesses, where individual needs are assessed and met.
"For the first time we have introduced national minimum standards for managing the needs of victims and witnesses and by working with Victim Support, the Witness Service and other support agencies we will deliver a seamless, high quality service that puts the witness back where they belong at the heart of the process.
"The outcomes are clear: increased satisfaction of our witnesses, improved public confidence, better performance in narrowing of the justice gap and enhanced value for money by reducing ineffective trials with all the negative impact this can have."
Baroness Scotland, Home Office Minister responsible for witness care, commented:
"'No Witness No Justice' makes a significant improvement to witness attendance and to witness satisfaction by providing tailored support and protection. It is a good deal for witnesses because they are better informed, protected and supported. And a good deal for the public because it means more offenders are brought to justice. We cannot do justice unless witnesses are willing to report crime and come forward to give evidence. I am confident that specialist witness care units will bring about a major improvement."
The Witness Care Units provide a single point of contact for victims and witnesses for the first time. A needs assessment is carried out of all witnesses to identify problems which would prevent the witness attending court to give evidence, such as child care or transport problems, language difficulties, disabilities or particular concerns such as intimidation. The witness care officers co-ordinate the support offered to the witnesses and manage any referrals to other agencies such as the Witness Service. They provide updates about the progress of the case and at the end of the trial they make sure that victims and witnesses are told about the result and sentencing, thanked for their help with the case and offered further support if they need it.
The Witness Care Units will work closely with Victim Support and the Witness Service and will help them carry out their vital work in supporting victims and witnesses by ensuring earlier identification of victim and witness needs and smoother coordination with the CPS and police.
A successful pilot of 'No Witness No Justice' ran in five criminal justice areas: Gwent, Essex, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and North Wales, starting in July 2003. The independent evaluation of the pilot reported that overall witness attendance at court improved by nearly 20 per cent and the number of trials which had to be adjourned to a later date as a result of witness difficulties decreased by 27 per cent. Not only was there a 17 per cent drop in 'cracked' trials where the witness withdrew their statement or didn't attend, but there was also a 10 per cent increase in the number of 'positive' cracked trials where the defendant entered a late guilty plea. These cases were successful, the report says, because the witnesses did attend court, leading the defendant to plead guilty on the day of the trial.
In February 2004 the project received 27.1m funding from the Government's Invest to Save initiative for the national rollout. Project partners have provided the remaining funding.
Notes to Editors
- Media enquiries to CPS press office on 020 7710 6091, the Attorney General's press officer on 020 7271 2465, or ACPO press office on 020 7227 3425.
- A cracked trial is defined as a case that is dealt with on the day a trial was scheduled to take place or continue, without the trial needing to go ahead. This includes cases where the defendant changes their plea to guilty or pleads to a lesser charge on the day of the trial. It also includes cases which fail on the day due to the prosecution offering no evidence if, for example, a witness does not turn up. It does not include cases where the defendant pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing before the court.
- A factsheet explaining the 'No Witness No Justice' project is available on this website.
