I will not be rushed into decision on Plegbate, says new Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders

 
Reform proposals: Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders

Alison Saunders breaks into laughter as “Plebgate” is mentioned, before resuming the resolute look that might be expected of the country’s top prosecutor.

“I am ready for it,” says the new Director of Public Prosecutions, referring to the looming decision she faces over whether to charge police officers accused of forcing government chief whip Andrew Mitchell from his job with false claims about his conduct during a dispute in Downing Street.

“It isn’t as if I haven’t taken any sensitive, controversial, high-profile decisions previously. London is a really good training ground for that sort of thing and my 27 years of experience as a prosecutor probably helps hugely.

“It’s making sure that we take the time and are not pressurised, which we will not be, into making a decision unless we have properly considered everything and made sure that we’ve got the full information that we need.”

With powerful Westminster allies of Mr Mitchell lobbying intensely for action and public faith in police probity already called into question because of the affair, Ms Saunders knows that the “Plebgate” case guarantees that she will begin her new job this week under the most intense scrutiny.

Speculation over a decision is rife and with the police’s critics convinced of wrongdoing, anything other than a decision to prosecute is likely to be greeted with a cacophony of protests.The law, however, requires clear evidence and Ms Saunders, who was recently honoured by the Queen for her role in bringing offenders rapidly to justice during the London riots, will not be cowed or rushed by political pressure.

“I’m not saying anything about when the timing is,” she states, all signs of laughter now replaced with a determined stare. “We will deal with it as quickly as we can, but we need to make sure that we do it properly and are not being pressured to be rushed.”

Ms Saunders, a mother of two from south London who served as the capital’s chief prosecutor before winning a summer selection contest to become only the second woman DPP, indicates that another early task could be to authorise a landmark first prosecution for female genital mutilation.

“We are hoping that we will get an FGM prosecution relatively shortly — there’s certainly a possibility of one,” she says, referring to a file submitted by the Met which she is currently studying.

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But the organisation handles about 800,000 cases a year and employs 7,000 staff, and dealing effectively with the “bread and butter” cases which form the vast bulk of the CPS workload is perhaps even important than achieving success in high profile prosecutions. The key, Ms Saunders believes, is improving the way that prosecutors treat victims and witnesses.

The reluctance of some to attend court and give evidence is one of the main reasons why prosecutions fail.

Ms Saunders believes that insensitive or inadequate contact with prosecutors is one cause: a problem she intends to address by creating a nationwide network of victim liaison units.

Each will be staffed by specialists trained to respond sensitively to victim and witness concerns and to ensure that each step of the often protracted court process is carefully explained.

Here Ms Saunders’s experience in liaising with the family of Stephen Lawrence bears heavily on her thinking, particularly her decision, now vindicated but then highly risky, to seek judicial permission to use new “double jeopardy” legislation to prosecute killer Gary Dobson.

“The Lawrence case was one where I had a lot to do with the family. What struck me then was how important it was to communicate properly,” Ms Saunders said. “Going to the Court of Appeal on the double jeopardy for Dobson meant that if we weren’t successful that would be a complete end to it and it would be a bar to any future prosecution. So I met the Lawrence family to discuss that and to make sure they knew exactly what we were doing and the consequences. Things like that have really informed my thinking about how we deal with victims and witnesses.”

Such sensitive handling is expected to have the greatest benefits with vulnerable victims of crimes such as rape and domestic violence.

Both areas are described by Ms Saunders as “priorities”. On rape, she aims to increase the current 63 per cent conviction rate by ensuring that more cases come to court.

“We’ve seen progress around conviction rates, but we can do more,” she said, listing better victim care and the establishment of specialist rape units as among the ways of achieving success. “We have to be realistic: we’re never going to get to 100 per cent because quite rightly in some cases where we think there’s a realistic chance of conviction, the jury will have a different view.

“But what we want to do is make sure we get to trial, rather than trials being ineffective because victims don’t attend. Very clearly with the victim liaison units, if these are successful we will see both an increase in effective trials and our success rate in court.”

She also hopes to address domestic abuse and violence against women more generally: “Tackling violence against women is something I’ve championed in London and that I now want to champion on the national stage.”

That also applies to homophobic and other hate crimes, which she called “a real blight on society”.

Though born in Aberdeen, Ms Saunders went to primary school in Brixton and has spent most of her life in London and describes herself as a “real south London girl”. Her experiences in the capital will inform her approach as DPP: “We did lots of work around gangs in London and girls in gangs.

“The work in London is very much problem solving, asking ‘what can we do? Is it prosecution or is it something in education or a housing intervention?’

“Prosecution isn’t always the answer. If you get the right intervention early enough and take people out of that path to criminality, that’s far better than prosecuting them later.

“It’s making sure that prosecutors talk to police and local authorities about who are the main offenders and what the best answer is.”

Human trafficking is another area in which Ms Saunders hopes to make progress, this time by examining British liaison with the countries from which victims and perpetrators arrive.

A summit meeting next month will work towards an action plan to enable more prosecutions here and abroad.

The more prosaic task of improving day-to-day administration completes Ms Saunders’s early agenda and should, if achieved, reduce court delays and minimise the number of prosecutions that collapse unnecessarily.

With a five-year term in office, tens of thousands of cases, and some of the country’s most serious criminals to deal with, it is a formidable challenge. But as she strides confidently out of her office to continue briefing her new staff, it’s clear that the task is one Ms Saunders relishes.

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