HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc217-8W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many swift justice cases there have been due to the Street Crime Initiative Unit in Merseyside. [146238]

Paul Goggins

Under the Street Crime Initiative, courts are ensuring that street crime cases move through the criminal justice system without unnecessary delay and that trials are given hearing dates as early as practicable.

Merseyside aim to provide a good quality of prosecution, using the Premium Service approach. The Crown Prosecution Service are co-located and work closely with the police from an early stage of investigation to progress cases through the courts. In one case last year a defendant was charged and convicted in the Liverpool Crown court in 30 hours

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many and what percentage of witnesses on Merseyside applied for special measures in giving evidence in the last year for which figures are available; and how many and what percentage had their request granted; [146240]

(2)what assessment has been made of witnesses' reactions to the special measures available in Merseyside to allow them to give their best evidence in court; [146241]

(3)what research has been undertaken on witnesses' views of their treatment by Merseyside Crown Prosecution Service. [146242]

Paul Goggins

In 2003 the Crown court at Liverpool received 497 applications for Special Measures. Information on the number of applications received by magistrates courts and youth courts is not held centrally. The number and percentage of successful requests in the Crown court is also not held centrally. These figures could be produced only at disproportionate cost

Surveys of witnesses' views towards special measures were conducted before and after the first phase of implementation of the special measures. The findings of the pre-implementation survey were published in 2001 (Home Office Research Findings 147, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r147.pdf). The post-implementation survey was conducted in 2003 and is currently being written-up.

The Witness Satisfaction Surveys of 2000 and 2002 measured general witness satisfaction with various agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/hors230.pdf, http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r133.pdf, http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/f189.pdf

Witnesses interviewed for these surveys were drawn from courts throughout England and Wales and analysis was done on that basis. Apart from the disproportionate cost of gathering the information requested, the number of interviews carried out in Merseyside would probably be too small to allow statistically meaningful analysis.