Monday, April 29, 2019
Will new rules on mobile phones deter victims from reporting sexual assault?
This is a difficult one. Whereas I fully understand that the police and prosecutors are keen to avoid trials collapsing due to the last minute revelation of mobile phone data, the impact on victims of having to suffer this additional intrusion could potentially prevent them coming forward in the first place.
The Independent reports that in future rape and domestic violence victims will be forced to give police access to their phones and social media accounts or face their cases being dropped. They say that new forms being handed out across England and Wales warn that if a complainant refuses to surrender their digital devices, or tries to prevent any personal information being shared, “it may not be possible for the investigation or prosecution to continue”.
They add that figures released last week show that only 1.7 per cent of reported rapes were prosecuted in 2018, and 40 per cent of cases were closed with the marker “evidential difficulties – victim does not support action”:
The Victims Commissioner said victims of sexual violence were being re-traumatised by “routinely having their personal lives disproportionately investigated and disclosed in criminal trials”.
“Whilst this form sets out the position from a police perspective, from the victim’s perspective it is both complex and technical,” Baroness Newlove added.
“Many victims will just not be in a position to fully understand the implications of signing over their personal data. It is a huge decision to take at any time, let alone when you are at your most vulnerable.” She called for victims to be offered free access to independent legal advice and for judges, rather than detectives or prosecutors, to decide what must be disclosed in disputes.
“Changing the paperwork might improve the efficiency of the process, but it does not deliver fairness for victims,” Baroness Newlove said.
“This form is unlikely to do anything to help reverse the fall in prosecutions for rape and sexual violence. I am concerned it might have the opposite effect, with even fewer victims willing to pursue their cases through to trial.”
If this change goes ahead then there also needs to be additional support made available to victims, including individual advocates being provided as a matter of course to offer advice and assistance throughout the process.
The official line may well be that this data will not be requested as a matter of course, but it seems to me that it will become a fairly standard request in no time at all.
Anything that prevents a victim bringing a perpetrator to justice cannot be a good thing, so the crown prosecution service and the police must get this right from the very beginning, or else see a further fall in the number of cases being brought to trial.
The Independent reports that in future rape and domestic violence victims will be forced to give police access to their phones and social media accounts or face their cases being dropped. They say that new forms being handed out across England and Wales warn that if a complainant refuses to surrender their digital devices, or tries to prevent any personal information being shared, “it may not be possible for the investigation or prosecution to continue”.
They add that figures released last week show that only 1.7 per cent of reported rapes were prosecuted in 2018, and 40 per cent of cases were closed with the marker “evidential difficulties – victim does not support action”:
The Victims Commissioner said victims of sexual violence were being re-traumatised by “routinely having their personal lives disproportionately investigated and disclosed in criminal trials”.
“Whilst this form sets out the position from a police perspective, from the victim’s perspective it is both complex and technical,” Baroness Newlove added.
“Many victims will just not be in a position to fully understand the implications of signing over their personal data. It is a huge decision to take at any time, let alone when you are at your most vulnerable.” She called for victims to be offered free access to independent legal advice and for judges, rather than detectives or prosecutors, to decide what must be disclosed in disputes.
“Changing the paperwork might improve the efficiency of the process, but it does not deliver fairness for victims,” Baroness Newlove said.
“This form is unlikely to do anything to help reverse the fall in prosecutions for rape and sexual violence. I am concerned it might have the opposite effect, with even fewer victims willing to pursue their cases through to trial.”
If this change goes ahead then there also needs to be additional support made available to victims, including individual advocates being provided as a matter of course to offer advice and assistance throughout the process.
The official line may well be that this data will not be requested as a matter of course, but it seems to me that it will become a fairly standard request in no time at all.
Anything that prevents a victim bringing a perpetrator to justice cannot be a good thing, so the crown prosecution service and the police must get this right from the very beginning, or else see a further fall in the number of cases being brought to trial.
