Championing Justice and the Rights of Victims
No Witness No Justice
The NWNJ project is a partnership between the Prime Minister's Office of Public Services Reform, the CPS,ACPO and OCJR. The initiative aims to provide a more customer-focused and responsive service to victims and witnesses and improve their experience of the CJS.
National implementation of NWNJ saw the successful creation of 165 Witness Care Units (WCUs) in England and Wales by December 2005. Cases handled by the WCUs have improved witness attendance rates in both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court from 77.3% to 85% currently. In the most serious cases i.e. those heard in the Crown Court, ineffective and cracked trials due to witness issues have reduced by 41%.
The Units provide a single point of contact from the point at which a charge has been brought until the conclusion of the case. Dedicated witness care officers ensure that the needs of the individual victims and witnesses are identified and met so that they have all the support and information they need to enable them to attend court and give their best evidence.
The NWNJ project will continue to rollout the Witness Management IT System used in WCUs to track the progress of cases and help witness care officers provide a comprehensive service to meet the needs of victims and witnesses.
Case Study
An 18-year-old woman was the victim of an attempted robbery at a travel agents. While the accused did not escape with any cash, the damage he caused was significant. When Janet, a witness care officer at Surrey WCU, called the victim she realised the young woman was extremely distressed. The young woman was increasingly convinced that she would be the victim of a similar attack at work, eventually finding it difficult not just to do her job, but to leave her house.
Janet put the victim in contact with the local Victim Support and the court Witness Service who were able to provide support and counselling. Janet also contacted the police officer and the CPS caseworker who were handling the case to make them aware of the victim's fears.
The young woman gave a victim personal statement to the police and the court duly applied special measures so that she could give her evidence behind a screen.
The defendant was remanded in custody following the incident, but the victim needed constant reassurance that this was still the case. It was only when a bail application by the defence was refused that the victim really started to believe that the right systems were in place to support her.
At the time of the trial the young woman, although still scared, was determined to give evidence. At Guildford Crown Court the defendant entered a late guilty plea and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.
Case Study
At Maidstone WCU, Louise found herself with a very reluctant witness; she came up with an innovative but simple solution to ensure his attendance at court.
The witness admitted to Louise that he was an alcoholic, and that he found it extremely difficult to handle appearances in public. In particular, he was embarrassed that other people would notice that his hands shook as a result of DTs (delirium tremens).
The witness care officer asked if an application could be made to allow the witness to deliver his evidence sitting down. The application was granted, enabling the witness to sit on his hands and avoid any embarrassment caused by his illness.
He phoned after the trial to thank Louise for her help, and the respect that she had shown him.
Prosecutors' Pledge
On 21 October 2005, the Attorney General introduced a 10-point Prosecutors' Pledge that sets out the level of service that victims can expect to receive from prosecutors. This includes considering the impact of a crime on the victim or their family when making a charging decision, promoting and encouraging two-way communications between a victim and a prosecutor, and after a conviction applying for compensation, restitution or future protection of the victim where appropriate. The Pledge underpins the new Attorney General's Guidelines outlining the important role that prosecutors play in protecting victims' interests at key stages of the criminal justice process, in particular in accepting pleas and at sentencing. (Further information on sentencing is provided on page 22).
Case Study
Karen Harrold, CCP Wiltshire
Wiltshire CCP Karen Harrold prosecuted the Daily Express and Daily Telegraph under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 that prohibits publication of material likely to lead to the identification of a victim of a sexual assault. The papers published a picture of the victim entering court before the trial. This enabled RAF colleagues to identify her when they had no prior knowledge of the case. The victim's views were taken on the acceptability of pleas in line with the Prosecutors' Pledge and close contact was maintained throughout the case, even though the victim was serving in the Gulf. Karen prosecuted the case throughout, using the victim's personal statement and explaining how the media coverage had affected the victim's health, working and personal relationships and her potential career. The court awarded the maximum compensation possible of £15,000. After the verdict, the victim told Karen that the trauma of the original trial left her devastated and under huge personal strain, but the positive action taken to address the wrong done to her by the papers really was a light in the dark and she now felt vindicated and 'less of a victim' as a result.
Victims' Code
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (The Victims' Code) was launched in October 2005, as part of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, and came into full effect on 4 April 2006. The Code sets out the services victims can expect to receive from the CJS, including notifying vulnerable or intimidated victims within one working day and all other victims within five working days if there is insufficient evidence to charge a defendant, and identifying any special measures that may be appropriate. For the first time, the Code gives the right to appeal should victims feel that any of the agencies have not met their obligations as set out in the Code.
Improving the Service to Vulnerable or Intimidated Witnesses
The CPS continues to work closely with OCJR and other agencies to implement the special measures contained in Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. Since October 2005, live links have been available for all vulnerable and intimidated witnesses in both the Crown Court and magistrates' courts. In 2006, the CPS intends to implement video evidence for intimidated witnesses in some categories of crime including rape and serious sexual assault. Six Pathfinder Areas have continued their work on the use of intermediaries for vulnerable witnesses and the evaluation team will report on this in 2006 before deciding on national rollout.
The CPS has also continued its programme of Area events to encourage the use of 'witness profiling' for vulnerable witnesses in partnership with Liverpool City Council. This includes working with Social Services to increase support, including pre-court visits, and identifying possible special measures that a witness may need.
Case Study
Ian Crooks, Angela Trotter, Rachel Hammond and John Davies, CPS West Midlands
On 20 November 2004 a group of up to 12 men attempted to force their way into the Premonition Nightclub in Birmingham City Centre. Ishfaq Ahmed was shot in the back as he tried to prevent the men entering the club and three others were shot and wounded. Dean Smith, Carl Spencer, Jamal Parchment, Leonard Wilkins, Michael Christie and William Carter were soon arrested and charged with murder. CPS West Midlands lawyers John Davies and Rachel Hammond, caseworker Angela Trotter, and legal trainee Ian Crooks worked on the case and, with the police, ensured that appropriate measures were taken to protect witnesses. The witness stand was completely rebuilt to allow only the judge and jury to see the witnesses, screens were erected to allow witnesses to get to and from the stand without being seen, and when giving evidence their voices were distorted. After a nine-week trial all defendants were convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years before being eligible for parole.
West Midlands CCP David Blundell said, "The CPS and police used techniques learned from the Ashton shooting case to provide support to witnesses in order for them to come forward and give evidence."
Domestic Violence
The CPS continues to contribute to the Government's strategy to tackle domestic violence. Key elements of the CPS policy on prosecuting cases of domestic violence, which was revised in 2005, included a greater focus on the victim's priorities of safety, support and information and, wherever possible, constructing cases for prosecution on the basis of evidence other than that from the victim.
In June 2005, the CPS completed a two year Domestic Violence Project, with pilots in Caerphilly, Gwent and Croydon. The Project illustrated ways to increase the number of domestic violence incidents reported to police that resulted in a case at court; reduce the number of cases withdrawn or discontinued; increase the number of offenders brought to justice, including through more guilty pleas; and strengthen cases through the use of evidence other than victim statements. Good Practice Guidance from this work was distributed to all CPS Areas in November, for use in developing Area Business Plans for 2006-07.
The CPS Domestic Violence Team is also working with the Home Office and DCA, to establish 25 specialist domestic violence courts across England and Wales from April 2006 with a further 25 courts to start in April 2007. The £2.5 million funding, announced at the end of March 2006, is being utilised to employ independent domestic violence advisors and independent sexual assault advisors to support victims in these courts and develop Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs).
Case Study
The CPS has linked up with voluntary organisations in a campaign to highlight the problem of violence against women and children, and to warn offenders of the charges they face if they are prosecuted. The campaign targets nine categories of crime including domestic violence, rape and sexual assaults, child abuse and honour crimes. Posters displaying the contact details for voluntary groups such as Refuge and Childline will be displayed in community centres, housing offices, police stations, courts, doctors' surgeries and hospitals across England and Wales and beer mats with the same message will be distributed to pubs and bars. The DPP, Ken Macdonald said,"Violent behaviour towards women and children, in whatever form it takes, is criminal. These crimes have a devastating effect on the victims and their families too. We take them very seriously and we prosecute. Our message to victims is - don't suffer in silence. Not only will we bring offenders to court where there is evidence to do so, but we work closely with the police, courts and voluntary sector to make sure that support and special arrangements are put in place to help vulnerable and intimidated victims during the prosecution process."
Case Study
"Mandy" was put in contact with the Caerphilly specialist domestic violence court pilot project after suffering years of abuse at the hands of her partner. The police had been called out on numerous occasions, but charges were dropped due to fear of the consequences, or because of pressure put upon her. The situation changed when her partner severely stabbed her.
He was arrested and charged, and this time Mandy was contacted by the multi-agency pilot. The Police Domestic Violence Officer offered Mandy advocacy support from an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA). She was given information about court proceedings, giving evidence and kept informed of the progress of the case. Her partner continued to pressurise her to withdraw the complaint, but because of the support she received she felt able to pursue the charges.
Due to her links with the DV team, the continued intimidation by her partner was reported to the police and he then faced further charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice for putting her under pressure to withdraw the complaint.
He was convicted of grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment, but was still contacting Mandy. With the help of the specialist DV pilot team again, action was taken to ensure no further contact was made by the offender, including barring his phone calls to her from prison and liaising with the Home Probation Officer with regard to his release conditions. Mandy is now starting to rebuild her life, her confidence is growing, she has found a job, and is looking forward to the future.
Hate Crime
The Attorney General and the DPP launched the CPS Policy on Prosecuting Racist & Religious Crime in July 2003. In 2005-06, the CPS reviewed its performance in the prosecution of hate crimes including racist and religious crimes. From April 2005 to March 2006 there has been a 41% increase in recorded hate crime cases compared with 2004-05, with domestic violence accounting for 84% of these cases. From April 2005 targets were introduced to reduce unsuccessful outcomes in hate crimes, with specific reference to domestic violence. From April 2005 to March 2006, hate crime successful outcomes increased from 57.9% to 62%, while domestic violence successful outcomes increased from 55% to 59.7%.
Case Study
On 21 August 2005 Ashed Mahmood, who was on crutches following a road accident, and wearing traditional clothing, was leaving Maidstone town centre when Richard Wallace hit him on the head with a glass. Wallace accosted Mr Mahmood and accused him of saying something about the people he was with. A witness then heard Wallace shout religious abuse. Reviewing lawyer Jane Scotchmer consulted Area Racist and Religiously Aggravated Crime Specialist Keith Yardy, and referred the case to the DPP. The CPS prosecuted on the basis that the crime was religiously aggravated and would not accept a plea to assault. On 14 November 2005 at Maidstone Crown Court, Richard Wallace admitted wounding Mr Mahmood with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm. On 12 December 2005 Wallace was sentenced to four and a half years in jail, three years for the offence and 18 months uplift for the religious/racial element.
Case Study
In the 2005 Justice Awards, CPS Humberside Crown Prosecutor Paula Craven was highly commended in the category 'Outstanding achievement in caring for victims & witnesses.' Paula is personally committed to encouraging more victims to give evidence, and has instigated several projects to help prevent retractions and secure more convictions. As a result of her work, CPS Humberside had a 70% conviction rate in domestic violence cases.
