What just happened?
The government is planning on imposing targets for the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)[1] in response to the recent statistics showing years of decline in the number of rape cases reaching the English and Welsh courts.[2] The targets are being enforced by the Prime Minister’s crime and justice task force in an attempt to force rape prosecutions to rise.
What does this mean?
Rape prosecutions have “fallen to their lowest level since records began; 2,102 prosecutions – a 59% decline since 2016-17 – and 1,439 convictions in England and Wales in 2019-20.[3] Even if the CPS is prosecuting fewer rape cases, there is a rise in the reported rapes as reports of rape increased by a third to 55,130 in 2019-20.[4] This means more rape victims are being denied justice, with their cases not making it to trial, meaning less perpetrators prosecuted and sentenced. Victims’ advocates have accused the CPS of allowing the “effective decriminalisation of rape”.[5]
The government has sanctioned an investigation into how the justice system handles rape, and the targets are expected to be a part of the released findings. Sarah Crew, the most senior police officer for rape said that “outcomes for victims of rape are not good enough and all of the criminal justice system will use the review’s findings to improve”.[6] Dame Vera Baird QC, the Victims Commissioner for England and Wales praised the move as he believes that the government is not afraid to act where necessary and “targets are an imperfect tool, but the specific focus on the CPS is vital.[7] However, Katie Russell argues that targets are the wrong method for dealing with the systemic problem[8] as she believes that targets alone will not result in the much-needed cultural shift for survivors and victims as other measures should be prioritised, including “training, education of the public and sustainably funded support for survivors”.[9] I agree with Katie Russell that the targets are not the correct method for dealing with such a systemic issue as the result of these targets will completely depend on the other measures put in place alongside them, as although the statistics are very concerning, numerical targets of conviction feels like an overly simplistic way to solve a very large and complex problem.
Sarah Green suggested a study of courtroom experiences for everyone involved in the court cases of rape trials before imposing the pressure for change on the police and CPS. She stated, “the fact that rape myths are deployed in court is what leads to conservative decision-making earlier in the process.”[10] Personally, I do not think the courtroom should be the main focus, but agree with Sarah Green’s emphasis on the victim and victim experience.
How does this impact the legal industry?
The idea of prosecution targets could potentially interfere with the independence of the CPS and introduce a whole new era of external control over the CPS. I believe that the idea of imposing conviction targets external to the CPS is daunting as this potentially means corners may be cut, and complex decisions could be made brashly in order to meet the targets.
The targets fail to address the problem of a lack of reporting of rape cases. Moreover, the targets do nothing to address the issue of fewer rape cases being passed to prosecutors by the police. The government’s decision to impose the targets is a reductionist approach as it is likely that the targets could result in fewer prosecutions as only cases with a very high chance of success may be pursued. Reducing the process down to numbers and targets is likely to make the process less about the victim, and turning the whole thing into a numbers game, which is a potentially very dangerous prerogative.
Furthermore, at LawMiracle, we believe that the target system is likely to have an impact on criminal lawyers, as it could result in a large increase in rape cases in courts. This could also mean law firms seeing a much larger proportion of rape cases.
Written by Lucy Stone
Assessing Firms:
The topic concerns CPS and all the law firms that deal with criminal law.
References:
[1] Caelainn Barr and Alexandra Topping ‘Downing Street plans rape prosecution targets for police and CPS’ (Guardian, 9th Aug 2020).
[2] ‘Rape convictions: Justice system near “breaking point”’ (BBC News, 17th December 2019).
[3] Caelainn Barr and Alexandra Topping ‘Downing Street plans rape prosecution targets for police and CPS’ (Guardian, 9th Aug 2020).
[4] Ibid
[5] Lizzie Dearden ‘Rape victims ‘denied justice’ as convictions fall to record low’ (Independent, 30th July 2020).
[6] Caelainn Barr and Alexandra Topping ‘Downing Street plans rape prosecution targets for police and CPS’ (Guardian, 9th Aug 2020).
[7] ‘Victims’ Commissioner responds to reported plans to introduce targets for police and CPS in relation to rape’ (Victims Commissioner, 10 August 2020).
[8] Caelainn Barr and Alexandra Topping, ‘Why are rape cases targets being planned in England and Wales?’ (Guardian, 9 August 2020).
[9] Ibid
[10] ’Rape victims to benefit from government funding boost’ (Ministry of Justice, 7 February 2020).
Disclaimer: This article (and any information accessed through links in this article) is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.