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“Victims’ rights arrived late in the day” and have not been balanced or even considered when constructing the legal system, Sir Keir Starmer QC, former Director for Public Prosecutions, stated in a lecture at the Working Men’s College on 4 February.
The speech emphasised the points raised by him in a Guardian column the day before where he suggested retiring the phrase “criminal justice system” and replace it with “a criminal justice system fit for victims”.
During the lecture he conceded that there were good aspects of the present system: it is not corrupt, prosecutors are independent (he later said that during his five years in office he was never put under any pressure by any political party in respect of the hard decisions he had to take) and there are “relatively few miscarriages of justice”.
Nevertheless and for example, many victims do not feel able to make a complaint. When they do the system discounts it: under the old credibility tests “the more vulnerable the victim the less likely the prosecution” even though the number of prosecutions for false allegations are tiny compared to actual complaints.
He therefore supported a Victims’ Law which would put the changed attitude towards victims’ rights into statute. He is chairing a working party to advise the Labour Party what should be in such an Act, together with Baroness Lawrence and the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley, Peter Neyroud.
In reply to questions from the floor he said that the legal profession can be very difficult to persuade; they are “very conservative about change” but there is now more of a mood for change. This is not a “zero sum game” between defendants and victims. To those who complained that police officers are not successfully prosecuted he re-stated the law of self defence which is open to all defendants.
One innovation he championed was cameras in court. If we could protect victims and witnesses: “I’d have cameras in every court,” he said. That would “up the standards”.
During the lecture he conceded that there were good aspects of the present system: it is not corrupt, prosecutors are independent (he later said that during his five years in office he was never put under any pressure by any political party in respect of the hard decisions he had to take) and there are “relatively few miscarriages of justice”.
Nevertheless and for example, many victims do not feel able to make a complaint. When they do the system discounts it: under the old credibility tests “the more vulnerable the victim the less likely the prosecution” even though the number of prosecutions for false allegations are tiny compared to actual complaints.
He therefore supported a Victims’ Law which would put the changed attitude towards victims’ rights into statute. He is chairing a working party to advise the Labour Party what should be in such an Act, together with Baroness Lawrence and the former Chief Constable of Thames Valley, Peter Neyroud.
In reply to questions from the floor he said that the legal profession can be very difficult to persuade; they are “very conservative about change” but there is now more of a mood for change. This is not a “zero sum game” between defendants and victims. To those who complained that police officers are not successfully prosecuted he re-stated the law of self defence which is open to all defendants.
One innovation he championed was cameras in court. If we could protect victims and witnesses: “I’d have cameras in every court,” he said. That would “up the standards”.
“Victims’ rights arrived late in the day” and have not been balanced or even considered when constructing the legal system, Sir Keir Starmer QC, former Director for Public Prosecutions, stated in a lecture at the Working Men’s College on 4 February.
The speech emphasised the points raised by him in a Guardian column the day before where he suggested retiring the phrase “criminal justice system” and replace it with “a criminal justice system fit for victims”.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By David Green
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Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
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The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Born from a grievance, their research project grew into a book and is now challenging the status quo. Emma Price and Emma-Louise Fenelon reveal the key findings – and the critical next steps
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
