Issue 233  26th February 2022

'Rape cases should be tried in specialist courts, says report'

Specialist courts dealing solely with rape offences are needed to reduce a large case backlog and reduce victims' trauma, a watchdogs' report urges. The BBC understands that Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is taking advice on the feasibility of such courts. Victims of rape are being failed by a system beset by delays and poor communication, the report by the police and prosecution service watchdogs says. One victim told the authors her court experience had been "horrendous".

The report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Crown Prosecution Inspectorate highlights that in England and Wales:

• on average 706 days elapsed from the date of reporting an offence, to a case reaching court
• communication with victims was often poor, particularly once someone had been charged
• in more than half of the cases the inspectors looked at, trial dates were postponed without notice

The HMCPSI report can be found here.

'Defendants waiting over six months for trial up 15% in England and Wales'

The government has been urged to tackle “cruel and unjust” waits for defendants in England and Wales to stand trial after figures showed a 15% yearly rise in the number of people being held for longer than the custody time limit of six months. As of 31 December last year, there were 4,185 people who had been held for more than six months, more than half of whom – 2,279 – were in custody for alleged non-violent offences.

Almost two in five (38%) of those being held longer than six months were in custody for alleged drug offences, with 7% on remand for alleged theft. Others were charged with motoring offences being tried in magistrates courts, public order offences or fraud. The remand population has risen significantly since June 2019, exacerbated by the pandemic. The latest figures, from December 2021, show a continued rise in people being held more than six months, a year and two years, compared with June last year...

'Nightingale courts bill up to £34m, justice minister reveals'

The 23 existing Nightingale courts have provided 50 additional court rooms at a cost of more than £34m, a justice minister has revealed. James Cartlidge said the total expenditure across the 23 sites to the end of January was £34.6m, in response to a question from Labour MP Alex Cunningham about the cost of Nightingale courts, which were introduced at the height of the pandemic to deal with the mounting backlog of cases.

The average cost of the 50 additional hearing rooms, 32 of which can accommodate Crown court jury trials, is £693,220 – but several sites have required considerably more money, with Prospero House in central London costing slightly over £6.8m for just three extra rooms. Six additional hearing rooms were located in three former court buildings in Chichester, Cirencester and Fleetwood – which are among 244 court and tribunal buildings that have been closed since 2010 – at a total cost of just over £1.1m. The total expenditure includes running costs, such as venue hire, security, and cleaning, as well as set-up costs such as enabling works and IT hardware, but does not include staff, judicial or court costs...

'Birmingham pub bombings: Fight over confession to Chris Mullin'

Police want to force a journalist to reveal the source who made a "full confession to murder" over the Birmingham pub bombings, the Old Bailey heard. The West Midlands force maintains information in Chris Mullin's notes could solve the 1974 atrocities. But former MP Mr Mullin, 74, is challenging the police application to require him to disclose the material. His team cites the journalistic principle of source protection. In turn, barristers for the police say the benefit of a confession about the bombings outweighs any promise of anonymity to sources... The Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft will consider the police's application after hearing submissions.