Being Champions for Justice and the Rights of Victims
No Witness, No Justice
The No Witness, No Justice (NWNJ) project is a partnership between the Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform (OPSR), the CPS, ACPO and OCJR. The initiative aims to provide a more customer-focussed service to victims and witnesses and to improve their treatment by, and experience of, the CJS. These enhanced services will enable more witnesses to give evidence, improve witness attendance at court, reduce the rate of ineffective trials, and contribute to narrowing the justice gap and improving public confidence. The NWNJ initiative met its first key milestone by having at least one Witness Care Unit (WCU) up and running in each Criminal Justice Area by March 2005.
The evaluation of the NWNJ initiative pilots was published in October 2004. The evaluation found that NWNJ improved witness information and care, increased witness attendance, improved trial outcomes and increased witness satisfaction. The evaluation supported the approach to national rollout and endorsed the Minimum Requirements as representing good practice in victim and witness care. These requirements will be used to inform the revision of the National Standards of Witness Care and the Victims' Code of Practice.
Case Study
WCUs bring together the police and CPS to provide a single point of contact for victims and witnesses. The units identify possible problems that may prevent a witness giving evidence or attending court, such as transport, language difficulties, disabilities or particular concerns such as intimidation.Witness care officers co-ordinate the support and services provided to the witness and keep them informed throughout the case. There are currently 81 Witness Care Units open to the public across the 42 areas with the aim of opening 165 by December 2005.
The specialist WCUs have improved witness attendance at court by nearly 20 percent in the five pilot areas of Essex, Gwent, South Yorkshire, North Wales and West Midlands. These areas have also seen a 27 per cent decrease in the number of trials adjourned due to witness difficulties.
The value of Witness Care Units was clearly demonstrated after the murder of Amy Williams. At the time of her death, 14 year old Amy was 24 weeks pregnant. Her body was found in St Michael's churchyard, she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Philip Powell was arrested after DNA evidence connected him to the crime. The Telford WCU, together with the family liaison officer, kept in close contact with Amy's family and witnesses throughout the length of the case. They provided regular updates on the progress of the case along with emotional and physical support. The dedication of HCA Max Bennett and Unit Head Claire Riley ensured that the considerable evidencepresented was clear and resulted in a guilty plea, sparing the family the ordeal of a lengthy trial.
Powell was sentenced, to life imprisonment at Stafford Crown Court with a minimum of 30 years to be served before consideration of parole.
Pre-trial interviews
In December 2004, the Attorney General published a report on "Pre-Trial Witness Interviews by Prosecutors" which concluded that prosecutors should be permitted to speak to witnesses in advance of the trial in order to assess the reliability of, or clarify a witness's evidence.The interview will assist the prosecutor in understanding complex evidence and provide an opportunity to explain the criminal process and procedures to the witness.
The Attorney asked the Director to pilot arrangements and work has begun that will include the development of a 'Code of Practice' for prosecutors and appropriate training. In Autumn 2005 the CPS intends to pilot the initiative in Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.
Improving the services to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses
The CPS has worked closely with the OCJR and others to implement the package of measures proposed in the report Speaking up for Justice, many of which were contained in Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. These include greater protection for rape victims; utilising video recorded statements for children under 17 and vulnerable adults; and TV links for children under 17, vulnerable adult witnesses and intimidated witnesses.
The pilot projects on the use of intermediaries for vulnerable witnesses commenced in February 2004 in Merseyside and has since rolled out to West Midlands,Thames Valley, Norfolk, South Wales and Devon & Cornwall. There are now approximately 80 registered Intermediaries around the country, most of whom are speech and language therapists by profession. At the second Annual Intermediaries Conference, in London on the 16th June 2005, Lord Justice Scott-Baker commented, in his keynote address, that this initiative was "novel, important and exciting" and presented a "crucial new dimension to the CJS, with vulnerable witnesses better able to have their evidence heard in criminal courts".
The CPS obtained special measures to allow the largest number of young witnesses to give evidence following the death of Luke Walmsley. Luke died from a single stab wound to his heart at Birkbeck School in North Somercotes. The CPS arranged for all of the young witnesses to give evidence through a TV link from a remote location. All of the witnesses were invited to visit the video suite prior to the trial to become familiar with the location. During the trial the Judge and barristers removed their wigs to make the experience less daunting for the witnesses and cameras were positioned so the witnesses would not see the defendant. The jury at Nottingham Crown Court convicted Allan Pennell of murder by a majority verdict and he was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure for a minimum of 12 years.
