Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many victims contacted the CPS to make a referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme in the most recent time period for which figures are available; whether his Department holds data on the number of referrals by type of offence in the relevant cases; and how many of those referrals resulted in a change to the sentence length of the offender.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Requests for referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) Scheme are made to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Many victims contact the AGO directly and do not go to the CPS, and therefore the CPS do not hold all relevant data. All requests made via the CPS are reflected in the AGO statistics.
The AGO received 787 requests to review sentences under the ULS in 2020 and 144 requests were from victims and family members of victims. Of those 84 were eligible for review within the scheme and 14 of those were referred to the Court of Appeal. The data held by the AGO shows of the 14 cases referred: 4 were homicide cases, 8 were non-fatal offences against the person and 2 cases were categorised as rape and sexual offences. The Court of Appeal increased the sentence in 9 of those cases.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of victims that contacted the CPS to make a unduly lenient sentence referral had that referral rejected for being outside the 28 day time limit from the point of sentencing.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Unfortunately, the CPS does not hold this information. The 28-day statutory time limit is absolute; the statute provides no power to extend or to apply for leave to refer sentences to the Court of Appeal out of time. I very much welcome the introduction of the new Victim’s Code which was introduced on 1 April 2021 and which places an obligation on Witness Care Officers to notify victims about the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to page 8 of the 2020 UK annual report on Modern Slavery, how many prosecutors dealing with high-volume drug crime in the Youth Courts have received face-to-face training on recognising the signs of criminal exploitation.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The CPS recognises that the exploitation, grooming, and trafficking of children and young people is abhorrent and it takes great care to ensure the right people are prosecuted for the right offences.
Face to face training on the circumstances in which a prosecution would not be appropriate has been delivered to in excess of 330 prosecutors dealing with high volume drug crime in Youth and Magistrates’ Courts in the last three years. This includes training on section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The CPS also delivers a face-to-face Youth Specialist course which includes training on how to recognise the signs of exploitation and slavery and has been delivered to in excess of 300 prosecutors this year. Both courses have been adapted for delivery via videoconference during the Covid-19 crisis.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to page 8 of the 2020 UK annual report on modern slavery, what plans she has to roll out face-to-face training on recognising the signs of criminal exploitation to prosecutors dealing with other types of crime in the Youth Courts.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The CPS recognises that the exploitation, grooming, and trafficking of children and young people is abhorrent and it takes great care to ensure the right people are prosecuted for the right offences.
Face to face training on the circumstances in which a prosecution would not be appropriate has been delivered to in excess of 330 prosecutors dealing with high volume drug crime in Youth and Magistrates’ Courts in the last three years. This includes training on section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
The CPS also delivers a face-to-face Youth Specialist course which includes training on how to recognise the signs of exploitation and slavery and has been delivered to in excess of 300 prosecutors this year. Both courses have been adapted for delivery via videoconference during the Covid-19 crisis.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 30 September 2020 to Question 95701, if she will publish the number of cases pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service that resulted in unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues by offence type in each quarter since the third quarter of the 2018-19 financial year.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the outcomes of completed prosecutions, as a count of the number of defendants finalised, and collates the data collected by quarter. Each non-conviction (or ‘unsuccessful’) outcome is allocated a reason, indicating the principal reason the defendant was not convicted. The CPS also collects data which reports the number of prosecuted defendants allocated to twelve Principal Offence Categories.
The table below shows the number of non-convictions due to victim issues by Principal Offence Category in each quarter from Q3 2018-19 (October to December 2018) to Q4 2019-20 (January to March 2020).
| 18/19-Q3 | 18/19-Q4 | 19/20-Q1 | 19/20-Q2 | 19/20-Q3 | 19/20-Q4 |
Homicide | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Offences Against The Person | 2,770 | 2,687 | 2,419 | 2,520 | 1,997 | 1,992 |
Sexual Offences | 96 | 65 | 47 | 49 | 59 | 49 |
Burglary | 55 | 58 | 44 | 49 | 31 | 73 |
Robbery | 59 | 81 | 49 | 86 | 68 | 62 |
Theft And Handling | 106 | 104 | 112 | 100 | 84 | 98 |
Fraud And Forgery | 22 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 26 | 15 |
Criminal Damage | 237 | 218 | 189 | 199 | 162 | 159 |
Drugs Offences | 7 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 9 |
Public Order Offences | 150 | 140 | 151 | 147 | 134 | 127 |
All Other Offences (excluding Motoring) | 21 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 19 |
Motoring Offences | 66 | 60 | 47 | 67 | 51 | 57 |
Other (No Category Allocated) | 3 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 5 | 10 |
Total Non-Convictions due to Victim Issues | 3,594 | 3,468 | 3,111 | 3,286 | 2,643 | 2,673 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System
The table below provides a breakdown by Principal Offence Category of prosecution outcomes resulting in a non-conviction due to victim issues as a percentage of all prosecutions. The table shows that the proportion of non-convictions due to victim reasons are a very small proportion of all prosecutions.
| 18/19-Q3 | 18/19-Q4 | 19/20-Q1 | 19/20-Q2 | 19/20-Q3 | 19/20-Q4 |
Homicide | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Offences Against The Person | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
Sexual Offences | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Burglary | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Robbery | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Theft And Handling | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Fraud And Forgery | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Criminal Damage | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Drugs Offences | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Public Order Offences | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
All Other Offences (excluding Motoring) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Motoring Offences | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
Other (No Category Allocated) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Non-Convictions due to Victim Issues as a percentage of all prosecutions | 3.0% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 2.5% |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of cases pursued by the Crown Prosecution Service resulted in unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues in each quarter since the third quarter of the 2018-19 financial year.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the outcomes of completed prosecutions, as a count of the number of defendants finalised, and collates the data collected by quarter. Each non-conviction (or ‘unsuccessful’) outcome is allocated a reason, indicating the principal reason the defendant was not convicted.
The table below shows the number and proportion of prosecution outcomes resulting in a non-conviction due to victim or complainant issues in each quarter from Q3 2018-19 (October to December 2018) to Q4 2019-20 (January to March 2020).
| 18/19-Q3 | 18/19-Q4 | 19/20-Q1 | 19/20-Q2 | 19/20-Q3 | 19/20-Q4 |
Victim Issues | 3,594 | 3,468 | 3,111 | 3,286 | 2,643 | 2,673 |
% Victim Issues | 3.0% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 2.5% |
Total Prosecution Outcomes | 121,191 | 123,939 | 115,228 | 118,896 | 109,425 | 107,497 |
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2020 to Question 75406 on Sexual Offences: Private Rented Housing, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the updated January 2019 CPS guidance on sex for rent arrangements and advertisements; and whether that guidance has resulted on prosecutions.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions for sex for rent arrangements and advertisements under section 52 or 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This information could only be obtained by an examination of individual CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost. Therefore, the CPS is unable to make an assessment of the effectiveness of updated CPS guidance on prosecutions of sex for rent arrangements and advertisements.
Prosecutors will consider all guidance available to them when applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors to determine whether there is enough evidence to charge and if it is in the public interest to bring a case to court.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2020 to Question 75406 on Sexual Offences: Private Rented Housing, what estimate she has made of the number of prosecutions for Sex for Rent Arrangements and Advertisements under section 52 or 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in the last 12 months.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of prosecutions for sex for rent arrangements and advertisements under section 52 or 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This information could only be obtained by an examination of individual CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost. Therefore, the CPS is unable to make an assessment of the effectiveness of updated CPS guidance on prosecutions of sex for rent arrangements and advertisements.
Prosecutors will consider all guidance available to them when applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors to determine whether there is enough evidence to charge and if it is in the public interest to bring a case to court.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps his Department is taking to protect victims of crime from the suspects of those crimes that have been released from remand following delays to their trial as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Crown Prosecution Service is working to to protect the interests of victims and witnesses by ensuring that defendants properly remanded in custody remain in custody.
Custody Time Limits (CTLs) apply to all cases in which a defendant has been remanded in custody pending trial. Those time limits can be extended if the courts are satisfied that there is good and sufficient cause and if the prosecution have acted with all due diligence and expedition. The adjournment of criminal trials may require an extension of a CTL.
Following the suspension of jury trials the CPS agreed a Protocol for Custody Time Limit Cases with the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The Protocol is a temporary framework during the Coronavirus pandemic for the efficient handling of cases that involve a custody time limit. The Protocol sets out an agreed process for the listing and handling of CTL cases; an agreed understanding of the law in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic; and arrangements for information sharing.
The courts consider the issue of bail at each hearing and on any application for bail made by a defendant. Should the court decide to grant bail, whether at the end of any CTL or at another hearing, the court can impose conditions to ensure that a suspect does not interfere with witnesses or obstruct the course of justice, including the electronic monitoring of suspects.