§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to maximise the number of witnesses to crime who(a) come forward and (b) stay with a case to its conclusion. [134054]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 23 October 2003]: The Government published in July this year a national strategy to deliver improved services to victims and witnesses. It recognises that ensuring witnesses come forward and give evidence in court is essential for the effective administration of justice.
The Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965 and the Magistrates' Court Act 1980 already provide for a witness summons to be issued if the court is satisfied that the witness is likely to be able to give or produce material evidence but will not do so voluntarily. On 3 October we published a consultation paper and invited responses by 2 January 2004 to a proposal to introduce a greater element of compulsion in securing the attendance of witnesses in court.
The Government have introduced a range of special measures to assist vulnerable witnesses to give their evidence in court, including video recording, live links, the use of intermediaries and communication aids. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 provides the legislative framework for these measures and a phased implementation programme began on 24 July 2002.
753WPilot projects to maximise the number of witnesses coming forward and staying with the case are currently operating on a local basis and the Government have agreed to support these financially. For example:
The West Mercia Constabulary is engaged on a project to examine the reasons why some witnesses are reluctant to report crime and to test the effectiveness of a single point of contact (a "one stop shop") as a way of regularly updating witnesses on the progress of their cases.The Warwickshire Police is piloting the co-location of police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff dealing with witnesses and integrated information technology.The Metropolitan Police is piloting better co-ordination of the arrangements, both within and between criminal justice agencies, of the arrangements for dealing with witnesses.The CPS, the Prime Minister's Office of Public Service Reform (OPSR) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) are running a joint project with pilot sites in South Yorkshire, West Midlands, North Wales, Gwent and Essex. This project is testing a customer-focused service that tailors support more closely to individual witnesses' needs and provides multi-agency dedicated witness care units. These work with witnesses at every stage of the criminal justice process.
The pilots directly support the criminal justice system's Public Service Agreement (PSA) target of narrowing the justice gap, reducing ineffective hearings and raising public confidence. They also complement two other key criminal justice initiatives—the CPS/ACPO Charging Programme and the Effective Trial Management Programme.