CPS Saves the Met's Blushes
The Sarah Everard case has done more damage to the Metropolitan Police's reputation than almost anything else in recent years.
The fact that Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a serving officer highlighted institutional problems in the force. Excuses about 'a few bad apples' by the top brass were derided and seen as an insult to Everard as it contradicted official reports about long-standing issues.
When a group then tried to set up a socially-distanced vigil to commemorate and protest the death, that was unreasonably rejected by the Met. All of this created a tinder box that exploded on the evening of the vigil that did eventually end up taking place. The attendees were justifiably angry while the Met put it's foot in it again when it's handling of the event appeared to be heavy-handed.
Surprise, surprise, officers aggressively arresting women shortly after a serving officer had brutally murdered a woman was a public relations disaster.
Those arrests led to charges being brought against a number of the protesters for breach of COVID regulations. While there may have been a solid legal basis for doing so, the decision mostly just seemed to show that the police never had their priorities in order. It also allowed a story that could have been put to bed to drag on for months and months.
Now the affair seems to thankfully be coming to a premature end but that is in no way thanks to the actions of the Met.
Instead the Crown Prosecution Service have said "our legal test for a prosecution was not met". That test is the 'public interest' test but it has been clear for a long time that this baffling decision to bring charges has never been in the public interest.
The decision has been described as an embarrassing blow for the new head of the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, but I think that is only partially true. While he could have dropped the charges against the protesters, his hands were slightly tied by the decisions made by his predecessor Cressida Dick. Instead it would be better to judge him by his own actions and reforms.
In the meantime it has been a grueling process for those who had been charged. Indeed in the case of Dania Al-Obeid the Single Justice Procedure had been used to obtain a conviction behind closed doors so she only found out about her criminal record once informed by the media.
Her attempt to overturn the conviction on the basis that she had not been given the opportunity to plead guilty only added to the stress the case has caused the abuse survivor.
For many this decision by the CPS will be too little too late and the damage will have already been done.
That is fair enough. From day one there has been a litany of errors in the way that the police have handled the case and it will be a long hard road for them to rebuild any trust with women living and working in the capital. The truth is that the streets still do not feel safe and large sections of the population do not think that the Met has their best interests at heart.
There will be a lot of legal questions to answer too. The Met refused the original application for a vigil and their basis for doing so was not well-founded. There needs to be a much greater emphasis placed on the right to freedom of expression moving forward.
The challenge to the single justice procedure will also now be postponed until another day. This simplified procedure may be useful for expediting certain motoring offences like speeding where the guilt of the defendant is clear based on the paper evidence in front of a judge but does not seem appropriate where guilt is in doubt and there might be important contextual factors that a judge should consider before rendering a verdict.
This has been a total fiasco for the Met and there will be many senior officers who are glad it is behind them now. However this is also an opportunity to learn and reforms should be explored so that this debacle is the last of its kind.
There is no podcast this week. I have been on holiday and frankly the idea of working in this 40° heat is just horrendous.
There will be another episode next week and then in theory we will be up to date so episodes may appear as decisions are published for a short while.
If you have any other judgements you would like me to cover then drop me a line and I might do a bonus podcast instead.
Make a difference today,
Marcus