CPS IN BLACK HOLECases of domestic violence by instructions from on high should have all the resources of the courts available to ensure swift sure justice for the complainant and the offender. That means that the agencies involved are under an obligation to pull out all the stops and have the matter work through the justice system as castor oil through the bowels. All agencies include the police, the victim support unit and the Crown Prosecution Service. All the buffoons wandering about Whitehall with their Blackberries glued to their ears are just that; baffoons. They have cut the cloth of funding so tightly that there is not enough left to cover their embarrassment. Their parts are exposed and it is not a pretty sight. While the Minister is still exhorting his minions to extract an 80% utilisation rate from the magistrates` courts [this blog 20/02/2012] which he asserts are at present utilised only 64% of the time his boss has decreed that funding must be cut by 23%. This is supposed to come from increased efficiency in the use of resources. Now that makes everything clear. So by reducing the number of lawyers at the CPS and working as legal advisors in the courts, cutting back on police officers undertaking duties away from that invisible front line, centralising victim support units miles away from the courts requiring their input and creating a situation where legal aid lawyers have fled the job like rodents leaving a sinking ship not that many such lawyers made Ferrari purchasing amounts out of legal aid the incumbent Kenneth Clarke expects his bluff blokey manner to be an answer to all criticism. The reality of the situation at my court cannot be anything but an example of the situation countrywide and the CPS is so fundamental to the rotation of the wheels of justice that I make no apologies for returning to this subject.

Not so long ago we had the defendant, a young man of previous good character, meet his bail requirement to appear for trial on assault on his partner. CPS represented by counsel {presumably costing a lot more than an in house lawyer except our local area has sacked a good number of its lawyers} told us that notice to both their witnesses including the complainant had indicated that the trial would take place the following day so not surprisingly he was unable to proceed and applied for an adjournment which was opposed by the defence who were ready to proceed. On further questioning we discovered that the last personal contact that had been made with the complainant had been on the day of the alleged assault some two months previously when she was interviewed by police and had given a statement. Apparently that statement had been withdrawn a few days later. Nobody at CPS had considered applying for a witness summons. According to CPS she and the defendant had resumed their relationship and were once more living together; a situation denied by the defence lawyer who for her part informed us that her client had self harmed since the alleged incident, denied the charge and no longer was involved with his accuser. The CPS application to adjourn was granted and a rescheduled trial was hurriedly arranged for the following week with the bench issuing a witness summons for CPS to serve that same day. Some weeks later a legal advisor mentioned that the complainant failed to attend and although she could not recollect any further details she did say the defendant was cleared.

From our position it seems that there is no overall control at the local CPS. Functions are being effected by staff working above their levels of competence with apparently nobody being held to account for the systemic failures in the chain of procedures required to bring a matter to court with a reasonable prospect of conviction. Problems owing to centralisation of victim support units and interpreter supply are merely added irritants by comparison. Naturally it is at Crown Court where judges` statements of failure and/or inefficiencies make local headlines. Sooner or later there will be tragic consequences from a system failure blamed on lack of resources. It is a pity that it will take such an event for sense perhaps to prevail in Petty France London SW1. Meanwhile the Juggernaut continues into a black hole of its own making.

ADDENDUM 26th July 2012

Although the report doesn`t specify the reason why this offender was not remanded in custody it does state that his trial was adjourned owing to a lack of court time related to financial cuts within HMCTS the result of which was a tragedy for the new victim.

Allied Language Services aka Capita plc were contracted to provide all interpreters to HMCTS on the basis that they undercut any possible opposing contractor. It is public knowledge that this organisation has contributed to court delays as much as any other. The cause is undeniable………….we are heading to a justice system unfit for a major world power albeit vastly diminished.