Focusing support to victims and witnesses
Implementing the Victim and Witness Strategy 2008-11
Victims and witnesses have a central role to play in the prosecution process. The CPS recognises that it relies on the evidence of victims and witnesses, without whose co-operation prosecutions may not be able to take place, and justice may not be served.
In June 2008, the CPS launched its first Victim and Witness Strategy. The internal strategy provides a framework to support the delivery of existing commitments to victims and witnesses, as well as setting out a clear direction for future policy development – which will assist in the achievement of the "Justice for All" PSA target.
The joint "Thematic Review of Victim and Witness Experiences in the CJS" *, published in March 2009, was broadly positive (* Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration (HMICA), Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC)). It endorsed the reforms that had been made to the CJS in the past five years, saying that the general level of service provided to victims and witnesses had improved significantly. It singles out a number of successes, particularly the role of joint police/CPS witness care units (WCUs) in supporting victims and witnesses whose cases get to charge or beyond. Inspectors also made recommendations and set out actions for further improvement, to ensure that victims and witnesses receive a consistently high standard of service from the CJS across England and Wales.
During 2008-09, work has continued to improve the level of service offered by witness care units. This includes the development of a training course for WCU managers and a national conference for witness care staff to enable them to share best practice. During the year, witness attendance increased to 87% by March 2009 from 85% in March 2008.
Driven by the CPS Board, performance continued to improve in respect of the delivery of "Direct Communications with Victims", a key commitment for the Victims' Code. By March 2009, performance had reached its highest recorded level, with targets on the number of communications sent being exceeded by 38.7%, and more than 90% of communications sent within the relevant time limits. In addition to quantitative improvements, 2009- 10 will see an increased emphasis in the quality of these communications.
The Victim and Witness Care Delivery Unit undertook thematic reviews in respect of domestic violence and vulnerable and intimidated witnesses during 2008-09. It is now developing best practice guidance for witness care units in their role of supporting these victims and witnesses.
The Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) showed that victim and witness satisfaction with the CJS now exceeds 80%. The CPS is working with OCJR and other criminal justice agencies to develop effective mechanisms for the evaluation of services to victims and witnesses not captured by the WAVES survey.
Case Study
Nigel Hudson sentenced to eight years imprisonment
In March 2008 Nigel Hudson (pictured) was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment following his conviction for conspiracy to obtain property by deception and conspiracy to launder money. The case centred around a damp-proofing scam, in which elderly and vulnerable customers were conned out of £3 million by bogus companies set up by Nigel Hudson.
Hudson's wife Sarah and son Mark, who assisted in the business, are serving three years four months and four years respectively for the same offences. Ten other defendants were also sentenced for their part in the scam.
Hudson trained sales staff to con people into having unnecessary damp- proof work carried out at their homes, faking high damp meter readings, and even faking electric shocks from allegedly damp walls near sockets.
Hudson and his wife used the cash to fund a lavish lifestyle, including houses in Portugal and Florida. They were extradited from America to face trial. When police arrested them in Florida they were just about to set off to watch the launch of the space shuttle!
Two witnesses, who were in their eighties and too infirm to travel, gave evidence in court from their own front rooms through live video links - 98 witnesses were called in total. Sharon Hicks, a caseworker in the Lancashire and Cheshire Complex Casework Unit, explained: "If we hadn't had the home links, we probably would have applied for their statements to be read out, which would not have had the same impact on the jury. We were able to help them give the best evidence they could, with the minimum of stress."
Case Study
Baggies fans Kiefer and Lyndsey receive joint commendation
Two young, Baggies fans became the first-ever recipients of a joint-commendation by West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service and West Bromwich Albion Football Club for their bravery in assisting a member of the public during the course of a criminal assault.
In April 2008, Lyndsey Gavin (pictured front centre) and Kiefer Swanson (pictured back centre) called the police and provided assistance to the victim after they witnessed an assault taking place in Warley.
They later provided detailed statements to the police and attended court to give key evidence at the trial of the defendant.
On the day of the trial, Kiefer was due to attend a tour of The Hawthorns and meet an Albion player as part of his Prince's Trust Team Course, which is run in partnership with the Club's Community Programme.
Although Kiefer was upset at missing the tour, he, along with Lyndsey, did their public duty and attended court to support the prosecution case.
The defendant was found guilty and given a Community Order, a 12-month Supervision Order, and ordered to pay £300 costs.
Having missed the chance to visit the ground and meet a player for such a worthy cause, the Club felt compelled to reorganise Kiefer's Hawthorns tour and to invite both him and Lyndsey to spend a day with the team at the training ground.
The youngsters watched the first-team train before having their joint-commendation presented by Colin Molloy, District Crown Prosecutor for Black Country CPS, plus Albion manager Tony Mowbray and midfielder Chris Brunt.
Colin said: "I would first like to take this opportunity of personally saying a public thank you to these exceptional young people for their courage in stopping this assault, supporting the victim after her ordeal and finally providing their key evidence during the trial. Their intervention led to a victim being saved from further injury and injustice."
Baggies boss Tony added: "Kiefer and Lyndsey both showed real bravery in doing their public duty and it's only right that we, as a football club, should reward them. They really stood up to be counted and I hope they enjoy their day with us at the training ground."
Victim and witnesses with mental health issues and / or learning disabilities
The CPS recognises that more needs to be done to improve the management and outcomes of cases involving victims and witnesses with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities. Specifically, the CPS wants to ensure early identification of these victim and witnesses, put in place appropriate special measures and improve the overall level of support they receive.
In early 2008, a project was set up to identify existing best practice in the CPS. This work informed the production of a public policy statement and guidance in relation to victims and witnesses with a mental disorder or a learning disability. In parallel with this activity, material has been developed to increase mental health/learning disability awareness among CPS staff. Following a public consultation exercise, the public policy statement and legal guidance will be published in summer 2009.
Violence against women (VAW) strategy
As part of the implementation of the Single Equalities Scheme, the CPS published a violence against women (VAW) strategy, action plans and equality and diversity impact assessment in April 2008. The VAW strategy addresses a range of crimes, primarily perpetrated by men against women, including domestic violence, rape, forced marriage, so-called honour crimes, child abuse, prostitution and trafficking.
Areas selected leads to oversee the coordination of VAW work and the integration of the various VAW strands; a seminar was held in April 2009.
The first violence against women report on prosecution performance was published in December 2008.
In 2008-9, the CPS set up a VAW indicator to review quarterly Area performance in the prosecution of VAW crimes – included in the indicator are domestic violence, rape and sexual offences. In 2008-09, there was a 4% increase in recorded VAW cases compared to 2007-08; domestic violence accounted for 85% of the total. Convictions for VAW cases increased from 69% to 72% in 2008-09 (target 71%), which mirrored the improvement in the domestic violence conviction rate. Rape convictions for 2008-09 were 58% (target 59%), and sexual offences exceeded the 72% target with 75% successful outcomes.
The domestic violence and rape prosecution policies were refreshed and published in March 2009, with updated prosecution guidance across many individual VAW strands. Guidance on integration of VAW work, across all strands, was developed during 2008-09, and will be published by summer 2009. All prosecutors and associates had completed domestic violence training by autumn 2008. Training on rape for co-ordinators and specialist prosecutors began in 2008-09 and will be completed by 2011.
A cross-CJS Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) programme was first established in 2005, to set up coordinated multi-agency court systems for improving prosecutions of domestic violence cases. By March 2009, there were 122 SDVCs, with independent domestic violence advisors to assist victims and multi-agency risk assessment committees (MARACs) to assess victim risk.
A report on a pilot project within four Areas to investigate ways to improve the prosecution of forced marriage and so-called honour crime cases was published in December 2008. The recommendations, including specialist prosecutors and training, will be implemented during 2009-10.
Systems to measure VAW stakeholder satisfaction were developed in 2008-09 for implementation in 2009-10. Methods to measure support, safety and satisfaction of VAW victims are also being developed.
Refresh of the CPS Public Policy Statement on Rape
Since the CPS Public Policy Statement for Prosecuting Cases of Rape was first published in 2004, there have been a number of developments in the law, and changes to CPS practices and procedures. In particular, there have been changes in the way in which the CPS deals with victims and witnesses. In order to increase public confidence, and demonstrate that the CPS is doing all that it can to ensure cases are effectively prosecuted, we published a refreshed version of the Public Policy Statement for Prosecuting Cases of Rape in March 2009.
There was extensive consultation on the refreshed policy statement. Voluntary groups dealing with victims of rape were consulted on the first draft in spring 2008. This was followed in August 2008 by a 12-week public consultation exercise on the draft of the refreshed policy. Comments received were carefully considered and set out in the Summary of Responses (also published in March 2009).
The refreshed Public Policy Statement has taken account of a number of changes, including the use of video evidence in the Crown Court for adult victims of rape and serious sexual offences, and the CPS's responsibility for making charging decisions in all rape cases. In addition, the refreshed policy makes it clearer that prosecutors must challenge rape myths and stereotypes, and its language has been made simpler and more accessible for the reader. The policy also explains that the CPS has a commitment to ensuring that victims and witnesses are fully informed about its processes and procedures and can have confidence that we will endeavour to deliver the best possible outcomes for them within the CJS.
Case Study
London black cab driver John Worboys
In March 2009, London black cab driver John Worboys (pictured) was convicted for a series of brutal sex attacks on women in the capital.
Worboys was found guilty of 23 offences, including rape and sexual assault, which he committed between October 2006 and February 2008.
Targeting women making their way home late at night, he approached his victims offering them a ride home at a reduced fare, telling them he was going in the same direction. All of his victims told similar stories of Worboys lying about winning money, and persuading them to share a drink with him.
In February 2008 the media reported Mr Worboys' arrest, and following a police appeal more witnesses came forward to report their experiences which including six of the victims who gave evidence in the trial.
CPS London lawyer, Tony Connell, said:
"By preying on vulnerable women who were alone, late at night, and in need of a safe journey home, John Worboys grossly abused the trust that they and many of us place in London's licensed cab drivers.
"In providing them with stories about his apparent good luck and showing them a bag full of cash to back up his lies, he was able to persuade, coerce and, in some cases, bully his victims into sharing his falsified good fortune. The 'celebratory drink' they shared with him, and which he had laced with drugs, rendered his victims incapable of defending themselves.
"John Worboys is a dangerous and prolific predator and thanks to the victims who bravely gave evidence for the prosecution at this trial, Mr Worboys is no longer free to victimise vulnerable women."
John Worboys was jailed indefinitely in April 2009 at Croydon Crown Court.
