Backlog of rape and sexual offences in the crown courts is ‘totally unacceptable’, England’s chief prosecutor says
The backlog of rape and sexual offence cases in the nation’s crown courts is “totally unacceptable”, England’s chief prosecutor has said.
The new Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said tackling the wait for justice is his “highest priority” as he unveiled a new survivor support programme.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Parkinson said he is conscious of the impact of the delays: “I think it’s a huge problem.
“It affects the willingness of victims to support our cases. I’m afraid too often, defendants are taking advantage of the delays and just hoping that something will come up – in particular, that victims will withdraw.
“That’s why I think addressing delay and providing better support for victims are closely related.”
‘I think addressing delay and providing better support for victims are closely related’
The support programme is focused on those pursuing rape and serious sexual offences cases. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has hired 40 new victim liaison officers to be the single point of contact between them and survivors.
The officers will hold pre-trial meetings with survivors in-person or online, and coordinate support for them alongside existing independent sexual violence advisers across the country.
On average adult survivors of rape are waiting 710 days from the point of complaint to proceedings being concluded.
Spending hours sitting with people waiting for their cases to conclude over his 20-year legal career helped Mr Parkinson understand this can be “extremely stressful”.
Many people, he said “just simply cannot get on with their lives while the situation is unresolved”.
The new scheme aims to deliver an “improved” CPS that is more “open and empathetic”. Charlotte Caulton-Scott, the head of the rape and serious sexual offences unit at the organisation, accepts that has not always been the case.
“Our role from its inception is to prosecute offences, but actually over time, through our inspections, through direct feedback from victims, we realised that all our offering in terms of support for victims, hasn’t been good enough.
“I think now, we’ve got this great opportunity to make sure that we’re supporting victims in the best possible way, that we’re communicating empathetically and that we’re making sure that we support victims through what is a long process.
“We haven’t just come up with this idea. We’ve really engaged with victims of sexual abuse to find out what they need.”
Charlotte Caulton-Scott accepts the CPS ‘hasn’t been good enough’ for survivors
When asked if Ms Caulton-Scott accepted criticism that the support has not been good enough for survivors, she told Sky News: “Absolutely. I don’t shy away from that, nor does the CPS. It hasn’t been good enough.
“I’ve had direct feedback in the past saying, this is a faceless organisation. But actually that’s changed considerably.”
Charities supporting survivors welcomed the move in the “right direction” but are sceptical of plans.
Raffy Elliston, a young woman’s independent sexual violence adviser from the charity Solace, told Sky News it is a welcome step but lacks depth.
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‘We’re worried… this step isn’t actually going to put much of a dent in the backlog,’ says Raffy Elliston
Ms Elliston said: “One of things we’re worried about is that there’s such a big backlog and, while, it’s helpful to have meetings with a point of contact – this step isn’t actually going to put much of a dent in the backlog.
“It feels maybe more often plaster over a much bigger wound. It’s good to have clarity over what’s going on, maybe why your case has been adjourned for a year.
“But what they really need is a colossal step to have specialist courts, more judges, more counsel. They need to ban adjournments, last minute adjournments that are so harmful to the people in this process, that’s the step they need to take, not just meetings with points of contact.”
The Criminal Bar Association says the backlog of criminal cases will reach 80,000 by March 2025.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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