Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC will today (June 5) launch a public consultation on how the new Victims’ Rights to Review (VRR) policy should work.
The VRR will mean that victims of crime, including bereaved family members, can appeal against decisions taken by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) if it decides not to charge a suspect, offer evidence or drop a prosecution.
Mr Starmer said that the criminal justice system has historically treated victims as “bystanders” and has given them little say in their own cases, mainly in the belief that this would inspire confidence in the system.
However, refusing to reverse the decisions of prosecutors or to acknowledge mistakes has led to public confidence in the criminal justice system being undermined.
The change in policy was prompted by a case in 2007 in which the CPS decided not to bring sexual assault charges. However, the Court of Appeal later reversed the decision and in 2011 a disabled man was jailed for three and a half years for sexually abusing two fellow cerebral palsy sufferers.
The court stated at the time that, as a decision not to prosecute is in reality a final decision for a victim, there must be a right to seek a review of such a decision.
The CPS only allows prosecutions to begin or continue where they have a file of evidence from the police that supports a realistic prospect of conviction and when it is in the public interest to prosecute.
Minister for victims and the court, Helen Grant, said that victims too often feel intimidated and treated as an afterthought by the system, so the VRR will be an important step towards changing this.
While Javed Khan, Chief Executive of independent charity Victim Support, welcomed the VRR and said that it will strengthen the rights of victims during the criminal justice process.