CPS West Yorkshire Hate Crime Scrutiny Panel
Background
The Hate Crime Scrutiny Panel (originally the Race Crime Scrutiny Panel) was established in 2004 and was the first of its kind within the CPS.
The existence of the Panel forges strong links both within the CJS and the community. The work of the Panel compliments the work of the Police and reporting centres in encouraging the reporting of hate crime and greater involvement in the CJS, whether through appearing as a witness or becoming involved as a volunteer or staff member within one of the agencies.
The panel assists the Area in developing local policies and procedures which reflect community views. The process ensures that someone who understands both the issues of the community and the rationale behind the decision-making process of the CPS can explain issues and decisions, bridging the gap between CPS and the community, raising public confidence in the process.
How the Panel works
Representatives of the 5 hate crime partnerships in West Yorkshire scrutinise CPS cases with a racial, religious, homophobic or transphobic element, which they select at random. Each member undertakes specifically tailored training on the CPS prosecution policies in relation to racially and religiously aggravated crime and homophobic crime.
The panel identifies trends, strengths and weaknesses in the decision-making process and management of cases. The pertinent learning points are then fed back to CPS lawyers, Police and relevant Victim workers.
Feedback from the members is passed to individual CPS lawyers at team briefings and actions directed as appropriate.
Each community Panel member feeds back to their home organisation and local communities, thereby improving understanding and trust between the community and the CPS.
What's next?
The West Yorkshire Panel is in the process of expanding its membership to include representatives from North Yorkshire and will shortly be looking at cases that have been handled by CPS North Yorkshire.
CPS HQ has recently issued guidance based on the learning and experience of West Yorkshire and is supporting all Areas in developing their own scrutiny panels based on the West Yorkshire model by 2008.