Making justice visible

10/07/2008

Our justice system often comes in for criticism from the public and the media. We asked Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald QC to tell our readers about how justice is being done - and being seen to be done.

 

A lot’s been said recently about how visible justice is: people want to see justice being done, to know the results of court cases and hear of the punishment given, but they often don’t have a clear picture.

So where does the Crown Prosecution Service fit in? Unlike the police, unless you have become involved in a court case as a victim or a witness – or even as a defendant – we are not a daily, visible part of everyday life.

Yet we are an essential link in the chain. In all but the most minor cases the police bring evidence to us and we decide to charge - or not - depending on a strict set of standards. Then the case is ours all the way through to conviction or acquittal. Last year we prosecuted over a million court cases.

And we’re getting more visible. Most days we publicise decisions on high profile cases. Often the hardest decision can be to conclude that there simply isn’t enough of a case to go before a jury, even where the public may favour a prosecution.

The issues we address often go to the root of common fears. In April we explained the decision not to prosecute Mr Edwin Pitkin, who killed a man trying to get into his home late at night, believing that he was a burglar who was threatening him and his wife. We explained how we assessed the reasonableness of the force used and took account of the circumstances as Mr Pitkin believed them to be. It was in line with our guidance to householders, published in 2006, just one of our public policy statements to explain how we work.

To be fit to serve everyone, we must arm our lawyers with the latest information.
Later this month (July) the CPS will be publishing its policy on Prosecuting Crimes Against Older People. We asked the public for views on how the CPS deals with crimes against older people and how it treats those who are victims and witnesses. The policy has been produced through the work of a project group involving representatives of key organisations working and researching in the field of age equality and older people’s experiences.

We want to make sure we address the needs of people of all ages. If a case does go ahead and people need to give evidence, there may be a fear in going to court or even a physical problem. A prosecution can fail if a victim or witness no longer wish to take part but we are trying to convey the wide range of options we can apply for to ensure people give their best evidence.

At court, witness protection measures, such as asking for screens to be used in court are now commonplace but we realise that problems can be practical too for older people with decreased mobility: earlier this year we worked with Swansea Crown Court to set up a video link in the home of an 87 year old woman whose cleaner was on trial for stealing from her.

We paid for the link and a court usher was present. Where older people need to get to court we’ll make sure they can: for example CPS Cumbria deals with a largely rural population by arranging taxis for witnesses who don’t have their own transport.

Age should be no barrier to playing a part in seeing justice done.