UK Edition
Record numbers of victims are being denied justice as their cases are being aborted at the last minute because of “no-shows” by prosecution barristers, official figures show.
Among the most recent victims were three police officers assaulted while on duty whose case was thrown out because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was unable to find a prosecuting barrister.
The judge directed that a not guilty verdict should be recorded even though the suspect had 161 previous convictions including assaults on officers.
Ministry of Justice data reveals there were 320 similar aborted cases involving serious crimes of violence, rape and sexual assault in the year to June 2022, 10 to 15 times the total in each of the past six years.
The previous high was barely a quarter of that level when 81 trials for the year to June 2016 had to be postponed at the last minute because of barrister shortages.
Shortages, rather than the barristers’ strike over pay, was to blame as the data covered the period before they took industrial action, according to legal experts.
Government warned it will struggle to clear backlog
It follows warnings by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett that it will be “very difficult” for the Government to hit its target for reducing the backlog of crown court cases from 63,000 to 53,000 because of the shortages of both barristers and judges.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “The criminal justice system remains in crisis. It requires retention of criminal barristers for both defence and prosecution. This also ensures provision of sufficient part-time judges.
“Government has started to play its part by reinvesting in barristers [after settling the pay strike]. But this has been done at crisis point and there remains a critical shortage of barristers.
“Prosecutors need the same increase in fees as those recently given to the defence. Long-term reform of the criminal justice system needs additional expedition. This increases the chance of retaining barristers who are needed to act in cases in court."
The police federation said it was “disheartened” by the decision to throw out the assault case involving three officers from Suffolk, saying it also meant an “enormous waste of resources” because of the “countless hours” spent by witnesses and lawyers preparing case files.
“The last minute nature of the decision meant the force were left short in their numbers, given that the three officers, plus two additional officers who were witnesses, had been warned for court. The domino impact of this decision is plain to see. This is simply unacceptable,” the federation added.
Sends 'completely wrong message' to others
Darren Harris, the chairman of Suffolk Police Federation, said: “It seems that this individual didn’t even get a slap on the wrist. It is beyond belief that they have been able to walk away completely scot-free for this despicable abuse of police officers just going about their duties.
“Not only does this mean that they have completely escaped justice, but it also sends out completely the wrong message to others. Where is the deterrent when someone can be accused of this type of offence and then simply see the case dropped?
“Police officers put their lives on the line to serve and protect the public and the very least that they should expect in return is a criminal justice system that punishes those who fail to respect their unique position in society.”
A CPS spokesman said it was disappointed by the federation’s comments but was determined to tackle the shortage of barristers rather than “wrongly apportion blame to others.”
“The scheduled barrister was unable to attend the trial. Despite our best, yet unsuccessful, efforts to find a replacement, our request to move the case to a later date was denied by the court. We acknowledge that this will be a disappointing outcome for those involved.”