§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Solicitor-General what steps the CPS has taken to narrow the gap between the overall levels of crimes recorded by the police and the offences brought to justice(a) in general and (b) with particular reference to hate crimes. [128720]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is narrowing the justice gap by improving performance so that cases are better prepared, increasing early guilty pleas and ensuring more contested cases reach trial. They are taking a number of steps to achieve this, including increasingly giving early advice to the police so that the case is reviewed early and the appropriate charge laid; improving case preparation and communication with the police to reduce the number of committals discharged; providing greater support to victims and witnesses by providing more information about the progress of the case so that they continue to support the prosecution and reduce the number of ineffective trials, and helping them through the trial process by, where appropriate, using video700W evidence, screens, and other special measures; working with local community groups so that local communities can see that the work of the CPS is responsive to their concerns.
The CPS is working with colleagues in other criminal justice agencies, through the Local Criminal Justice Boards, to:
- (a)bring more offenders to justice; and
- (b)increase public confidence in the CJS.
With particular reference to hate crimes, the CPS has produced three Public Policy Statements since November 2001 on Domestic Violence, Homophobic Crime, Racially and Religiously Aggravated Crime, and given specific training to lawyers on domestic violence and racially and religiously aggravated crimes. Work is currently under way to develop training with regard to homophobic crime. The training involves lawyers hearing from victims or practitioners who work directly with victims.
In February 2003, the CPS held a conference in Cardiff specifically on reducing the justice gap in hate crimes. This included representatives from voluntary sector organizations, other criminal justice agencies, the Bar and the Law Society, and a number of academics and focused on ways to improve the performance of prosecutors.
The success of the CPS in increasing public confidence and reducing the justice gap, particularly as regards vulnerable communities, is subject to scrutiny and comment by HMCPS Inspectorate in their regular reports.