Blair defends conviction rates
The prime minister today defended the government amid accusations of a ‘justice postcode lottery’.
Although he admitted that it was difficult to secure convictions, he insisted the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) “is working a lot more effectively than a few years ago”.
Unofficial figures published this morning in the Times suggest that criminal convictions vary widely, with some suspects up to eight times less likely to be convicted depending on the region in which the charges are brought.
They show that suspects in Bedfordshire had the least likelihood of being convicted, with an overall conviction rate of 76 per cent, compared to Warwickshire where 93 per cent of suspects were successfully prosecuted.
The figures, compiled from casework data over an 11-month period, reveal a worrying picture with regard to sexual offences, with 37 per cent of sex crime prosecutions failing nationally.
It also raises questions about the efficiency of the CPS – the statistics reveal that 41,000 cases brought before the courts failed after lawyers were unable to come up with any evidence.
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes challenged Tony Blair on the figures at today’s prime minister’s questions, saying: “The CPS has made progress but there are conviction rates of fewer than two in three for sexual offences in a quarter of the country.
“About two in three convictions for all violent crimes leaves room for improvement.”
He went on: “How does [the prime minister] propose to increase the success rate so more serious offenders are prosecuted and successfully convicted?”
But Mr Blair insisted the CPS was already working “in a more integrated way” with police to ensure suspects are charged with the most appropriate offence.
“[With regard to] sexual offences, there has been an increase in the number of recorded crimes because we are asking more victims to come forward,” he said.
“Sometimes it is difficult to secure convictions, and we are continually look at how to improve, but overall the CPS working a lot more effectively than a few years ago.”
The statistics also show a worrying conviction rate for murder prosecution in London – 34 per cent of all cases involving murder and manslaughter currently fail, higher than the national average.
