Inspiring Confidence in the Communities we serve
Community Engagement
During 2006-07, the high level commitments contained in the 2005 CPS Community Engagement Strategy were translated into practical outcomes. Three community engagement pilots launched in 2005 in Durham, Thames Valley and West Yorkshire were concluded in July 2006. An independent evaluation of the pilots found improvement in Area multi-agency communication and collaboration, realisation of the benefits to be derived from engagement and understanding of the tools and techniques of engagement. Learning and practical examples were brought together in the first CPS Community Engagement Good Practice Guide. Alongside this, the CPS also published the Community Engagement Handbook, which provides detailed information on the various methods of community engagement, when to use them and how to evaluate their effectiveness. A national conference in November 2006 attracted more than 150 participants ranging from CCPs, business and communications managers, HQ staff, and representatives from CJS partners. Plans are being developed to provide closer support for Areas and regions throughout 2007.
Engagement with Muslim communities continued throughout 2006, with the last of eight meetings taking place in November 2006. Issues discussed throughout the series included racially and religiously aggravated crime, counter terrorism, and incitement to racial hatred. An evaluation of this activity will follow. There are plans to hold further meetings in 2007-08 including some targeted at Muslim women.
Case Study
Vanessa Bassnett, CPS North Yorkshire
CPS North Yorkshire Communications Officer Vanessa Bassnett received numerous invitations from schools to help with the criminal justice element of the Citizenship programme. Vanessa could not attend all of the events, but wanted to assist in the delivery of this programme. In conjunction with the LCJB, Vanessa developed teacher training events to provide an overview of the CJS and a toolkit for them to use in the classroom. Vanessa worked with the North Yorkshire Business Education Partnership to liaise with schools about the project and undertook significant research, working with partners in the CJS and across the county to provide accurate materials to use at the workshops. Vanessa attended three events, consisting of presentations from CJS representatives, a question and answer session and practical exercises that put delegates in the place of CJS agencies to help them understand the difficult decisions that have to be made on a case-by-case basis. At the end of the workshop each delegate received an information pack consisting of fact sheets, exercises that could be used in the classroom, and contact details. A delegate from a workshop said the event "filled in a depth of knowledge for the delivery of the crime and punishment section of the PHSE course. I will have more relevant and up-to-date tasks and answers to the pupils' questions". Another attendee stated that "the comprehensive picture was invaluable".
The CPS's award winning video, ‘Just Deserts’, continues to be used in schools to tell youngsters about the work of the CPS. The video has been endorsed by Edexcel as part of the Citizenship module of the National Curriculum.
Case Study
Mohammed Parvaiz, a 42-year-old Huddersfield taxi driver, was murdered on the night of Saturday, 22 July 2006. His death was the result of his having unwittingly become caught up in an incident on 11 June, when he took a fare involving a number of Asian youths who had been involved in a confrontation with a group of white youths.
Richard Firth, CPS West Yorkshire Complex Case Unit, appointed lawyer Richard Hebbert and Caseworker Clodagh Cockcroft to the case. By 28 July, six defendants had been charged with murder and violent disorder. The incident immediately had a high profile. In Huddersfield there were demonstrations by the town's taxi drivers at what they saw as a lack of protection against a rising number of racist incidents involving drivers at work. The team understood the need to keep the family and community informed of progress. At the Plea and Case Management Hearing, prosecuting lawyer Richard Hebbert met both members of the family and a significant number of community members. He also held a meeting with the Acting Chief Executive of the Kirklees Race Equality Council, Jamil Akhtar, to keep him informed of progress and assure him that those involved in the case were aware of the sensitive issues and the tensions which the case raised. Prior to the trial, prosecuting counsel met Mr Parvaiz's widow and regular updates were provided throughout the court case.
At Bradford Crown Court all defendants were found guilty of violent disorder, with four being convicted of murder. On 20 February 2007, the six defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from 10 months' (for those not convicted of murder) to 25 years' imprisonment.
Case Study
CPS Lincolnshire child abuse and rape specialist lawyer Deborah Cartwright was a finalist at the 2006 Justice Awards in the individual Outstanding Contribution to Engaging Communities section. Deborah was highly commended for her work in dealing with particularly sensitive domestic violence, rape and child abuse cases. The citation also recognised her work coaching and tutoring groups of girls from a local secondary school to enter the Citizenship Foundation Trials competition, which enables young people to learn about the CJS and not only think about possible careers, but see themselves as stakeholders within it. Deborah is now expanding her remit. Working with CJS colleagues, she has set up an International Women's Friendship group with meetings during the day and in the evening to reach as many women as possible. She said: "The group will be predominantly for women from the significant migrant worker community who find it difficult to build relationships with women from the local community. They also find it difficult to understand and access services and there is a need for myths and suspicions surrounding the CJS to be dispelled and for bridges to be built." Deborah is also working on a project with Lincolnshire Police to produce two DVDs for schools on the issues around migrant workers and new arrivals. Deborah said that the project is "aimed at encouraging understanding and dialogue".
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour
During 2006-07, the CPS and the Home Office ASB Unit jointly funded 14 specialist ASB prosecutors. These prosecutors were supplemented by a network of ASB co-ordinators in order to provide nationwide prosecution coverage in respect of this work.
The ASB prosecutors ran a number of training sessions that improved the skills and knowledge of prosecutors in respect of making applications for ASB orders at the time of conviction. The ASB Unit also ran regional workshops for the ASB co-ordinators to discuss issues related to this work and to share good practice between Areas. The CPS also worked closely with the police and HM Courts Service (HMCS) Courts Innovation Branch and others to improve CPS performance and share best practice.
To further develop their role and enhance their local knowledge, ASB prosecutors have spent time engaging with their local communities in order to both raise awareness of how the CPS is contributing to the multi-agency approach to ASB, and to listen to local issues of concern to help identify the types of Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) that will be the most effective in a particular area.
Case Study
Operation Dacron was a multi-agency approach to reduce crime and ASB in North East Lincolnshire. Jeremy Evans, CPS Humberside, worked with Humberside Police and agencies including Safer Communities, Shoreline Housing Association and Whitgift School to provide a long-term solution to the disproportionately high level of ASB and low level criminality being committed by young people on the Willows estate. The team shared information to build a detailed picture of the behaviour of 15 youths. Jeremy reviewed each file of evidence against the individual youths and, with agency colleagues, met the youths and their parents along with the victims in the estate. The group looked at alternative ways to combat the problem that did not involve prosecution and created Acceptable Behaviour Contracts. Each youth received an individually-tailored package of continued intervention and support from the team. As a result of this work, all crime on the estate has reduced, with ASB related calls reducing by 70%.
POCA
During 2006-07, the CPS secured 3,373 confiscation orders to a value of more than £85 million. During the same period, the CPS also obtained 655 restraint orders.
In addition, CPS lawyers in the Regional Asset Recovery Teams have made an important contribution to asset recovery by advising the police in high value confiscation and money laundering investigations. They have also played an important role in co-ordinating local POCA 2002 training and disseminating best practice.
CPS Areas have nominated enforcement champions to take action in respect of confiscation orders made under the POCA 2002. The enforcement champions attended training workshops organised by the Proceeds of Crime Delivery Unit in October and November 2006. In March 2007, the first ever HCA POCA training workshop took place. It sought to train HCAs from the CPS and also RCPO and SFO on POCA and the conduct of confiscation proceedings. It is intended that the delegates then disseminate training in their own CPS Areas or agencies.
Case Study
David Levy, Fraud Prosecution Service
Helena Chirodian was jailed for 30 months for stealing from a GPs' surgery where she worked as the practice manager. The 62-year-old paid herself two salaries of £58,000 for five years. She admitted 22 offences of obtaining money transfer by deception and eight of false accounting. At a contested confiscation hearing after conviction at Southwark Crown Court, David Levy, Assistant Director of the Fraud Prosecution Service and an HCA, won an order for £330,000, which included £245,000 compensation.
Hate Crimes
In 2006-07, the CPS reviewed its performance in the prosecution of hate crimes, including racist and religious crimes, domestic violence (DV) and homophobic crime. There was an 18% increase in recorded hate crime cases compared with 2005-06, with DV accounting for 82% of these cases. Convictions increased from 61.4% of hate crime outcomes in 2005 to 67.2% in 2006-07, while convictions for DV increased from 59% to 65.2%.
In 2006-07 the CPS established a Hate Crimes Monitoring Project to improve the electronic recording of hate crime and enable the CPS to publicly report hate crime data in a single annual report. The first report is due to be published in autumn 2008.
Case Study
On 15 October 2005 Jody Dobrowski was attacked and murdered on Clapham Common by Thomas Pickford and Scott Walker.
On 16 June 2006 both Pickford and Walker were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 28 years for the murder. They had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing. It is believed that this is the first instance where a judge has been able to use motivation on the basis of sexual orientation as an aggravating factor when sentencing for murder.
Jaswant Narwal, District Crown Prosecutor at the Old Bailey Trials Unit, said: "This was a truly shocking crime. Jody was beaten to death for no other reason than being gay. Pickford and Walker have taken the life of a young man who, we were told, was gentle and enthusiastic about life, loved by friends and family.
"Pickford and Walker were determined to attack a gay man. There was no doubt that this was a homophobic killing and we treated it as such from the outset. If the defendants had not pleaded guilty, we had ample evidence to show this motive."
Nazir Afzal, CPS London, develops storyline for DVD
Nazir Afzal, CPS London
A character in a ground-breaking DVD aimed at schoolchildren is based on CPS London West Sector Director Nazir Afzal. Nazir was asked to help develop the storyline for the DVD, which tackles topics such as extremism and faith, bullying and youth crime. Copies of the DVD, which contains live action and animation, will go out to every secondary school, with advice to teachers on facilitating pupil discussion about the issues it raises.
Domestic Violence
The CPS continues to contribute to the government's strategy to tackle DV. Good Practice Guidance from the CPS DV Project (2003-05) was used to develop Area Business Plans in 2006-07. These plans included training for all prosecutors and caseworkers, development of specialist domestic violence courts (SDVCs) and performance management of cases. In 2006, Areas increased their work with DV community organisations, with 95% of DV co-ordinators attending local DV fora, compared with 80% in 2005. By March 2007, 2,600 staff had been trained, exceeding the target of 2,500, with plans underway to train all relevant staff by March 2008.
The CPS DV Team established a national SDVC programme with the Home Office and DCA across England and Wales. Some SDVCs reached 81% successful outcomes by December 2006. A further 39 SDVCs were implemented by April 2007 bringing the national total of SDVCs to 64. This programme was commended in November 2006 in the 'Whitehall and Westminster World' awards in the final three selected for 'Joined Up' working across government.
Work to tackle violence against women, in an integrated way, within CPS, including rape, forced marriage, honour-based violence, prostitution, and human trafficking is being developed. In November 2006 CPS was selected as top across all government for this integrated work by the Women's National Commission and Amnesty International UK in a report by the End Violence Against Women Campaign.
Ghazia Ali, Funmi Johnson, and in front, Jude Watson
The DPP, Ken Macdonald QC, said: "The CPS was praised for giving a coherent account of its strategic approach to violence against women in terms of planning, targets, training, budgets and evaluation. We take violence against women very seriously, whether it is domestic violence, forced marriage or so-called 'honour' crime, rape and sexual assault or the trafficking of women. These are all crimes where we will prosecute robustly if the evidence is there."
Baroness Prosser, Chair of the Women's National Commission, said: "As Chair of the WNC I am delighted that the CPS is taking violence against women so seriously and its scores in this year's report are a success to be proud of. They are giving a lead in government on getting the structures right, so that the right services can be delivered for women. We look forward in next year's report to seeing this rolled out with increasing effectiveness and making a real impact on the ground."
Case Study
Sarah suffered seven years of domestic violence, often exacerbated by her partner's drinking. She was often badly beaten, would call the police but then withdraw her support from any further investigation/prosecution.
An SDVC was set up in her local Area and when the next incident occurred, her partner was charged with common assault. Sarah received support from the police specialist DV Unit and Independent DV Advisors. She had regular contact with the local CPS who successfully applied for special measures to allow screens to be erected in the court. The process was still traumatic, but this time Sarah was able to give evidence and he was convicted.
Her husband appealed the conviction. On the day of the appeal, Sarah attended the Crown Court and the defendant promptly withdrew his appeal. She would not have had the confidence to attend without the support she had received. The conviction was upheld and he was ordered to pay compensation.
Improving Public Awareness and Confidence in the CPS
The CPS aims to become more open with the public and give them more information about the decisions it takes, both directly and through local and national media. During 2005, the CPS introduced a protocol that set out clearly the process for releasing prosecution information to the media. In addition, the CPS now supports reporting restrictions on cases only in exceptional circumstances.
This new approach has led to a higher public profile for the organisation and a leading role in announcing charging decisions on major cases. During the year, prosecutors announced their decisions in the case of Jean Charles de Menezes, the alleged airline bomb plot and the murders of five women in Suffolk.
Public Consultation
The CPS has continued to seek public opinion on new and revised policies. In 2006-07 the CPS undertook public consultation on policies including Sexually Transmitted Infections which cause grievous bodily harm; Prosecuting Bad Driving; Road Traffic Offences; CPS Single Equality Scheme; and Disability Hate crimes. Feedback received has ensured that public concerns and social issues form part of the policy-making process.
From the top left: Séamus Taylor, CPS Equality & Diversity Director, Ken Macdonald, DPP, Joanna Perry, Victim Support, Mark Brookes, Values in Action and, in front, Sir Bert Massie, Disability Rights Commission.
In February 2007, the CPS launched its public policy statement for tackling hate crime against disabled people and set out how it can support disabled victims and witnesses.
The policy statement focuses primarily on how the CPS will deal with disability hate crime, as defined by section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The development of the policy was overseen by a Disability Hate Crime Steering Group led by Kent CCP Elizabeth Howe, and included representatives from various disability organisations and involved consultation with disabled people.
Shehla Husain, Equality and Diversity Policy Advisor and project lead said: "The consultation was vital. We were able to draw upon the expertise of the various disability groups, ensure our policy took account of the range of disabilities and also provided a valuable reality check."
