RASSO Renewal?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the problems in the criminal justice system relating to rape and serious sexual offences (‘RASSO’ for short).
In particular, barristers are increasingly unwilling to take on this sort of work because of poor compensation and a failure by the government to address issues around wellbeing. All this comes at a time when a lack of investment and a serious backlog in the courts means that RASSO cases are taking years before trials come to any sort of conclusion.
Now, judges in England and Wales are taking matters into their own hands as they funnel scarce resources into the oldest rape cases. The hope is that the worst of the existing backlog can be cleared and victims will finally be able to put their ordeal behind them.
Lord Justice Edis, the man who co-ordinates Crown Courts, expects 181 cases to go before a jury by the end of July. In a statement, he said:
“This is an unacceptable state of affairs from the point of view of the complainants, the witnesses, the defendants and justice generally.
“It's a small proportion of the total number of rape cases that we have to deal with that end up getting this old but nevertheless, it's a significant injustice.
“The system has recovered its capacity. We are now in a position to make some choices, we are not in a hand-to-mouth crisis now.”
The move surely has to be welcomed, although it is not especially clear why things have had to deteriorate this far before measures like this were taken.
Hopefully the move will make a difference to those affected in the 181 trials, but it is important to remember that this is only a shuffling of resources and does not solve the more serious problems inherent in the criminal justice system. As rape trials get prioritised, this means that other cases will get pushed even further back.
Deploying resources in an effective manner is an important quality (especially in the law courts) but it should not save the blushes of ministers.
This week on the podcast we have a case for you that looks at the mental health treatment available for offenders in Northern Ireland, but we broaden the discussion to also talk about the relationship that the Supreme Court has with courts outside of England.
Episode link: https://uklawweekly.com/2024-uksc-7/
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Marcus