FDA welcomes additional CPS funding to support victims of crime
The FDA has welcomed that the CPS will be receiving additional resources. The announcement follows the recent publication of the FDA’s report examining the CPS’s role in increasing RASSO prosecutions.
The FDA welcomes from the announcement from Solicitor General Sarah Sackman KC MP that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will be receiving additional funding to support the victims of crime and to recruit additional staff in specialist Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) units.
The announcement follows the recent publication of the FDA’s report examining the CPS’s role in increasing RASSO prosecutions.
The report found that CPS staff and the courts system they work in are under-resourced, leading to longer backlogs and poorer outcomes for victims.
The FDA called for additional resourcing of the justice system and better support for victims to increase prosecutions of serious sexual offences.
The report has also gained widespread support from advocacy groups, charities, think tanks, and professional bodies.
Therefore the union welcomes the news that the CPS will receive £49 million, allocated to the CPS from the Budget. This is equivalent to an annual real terms increase of 7.5% over this financial year and the next.
This money includes funding for specialist prosecutors to work on RASSO cases, “further funding to support victim transformation programmes and develop use of cutting edge technology”.
The FDA looks forward to working with the CPS on the details of this funding and what this announcement will mean in practice.
Responding to this funding announcement FDA National Officer for the CPS Duncan Woodhead said:
“This is a welcome step and acknowledges the need to address the backlog in – and improve the outcomes of – RASSO prosecutions as part of the government’s mission to halve Violence Against Women and Girls.
“However, our report, based on the experiences of hundreds of FDA members, sets out several further steps the government needs to take to improve outcomes for RASSO victims.
“RASSO cases account for a high proportion of cases stuck in the Crown Court backlog, so any additional funding needs to be significant and sustained.
“The government must also consider a workforce strategy which includes a long term plan to recruit additional criminal lawyers, fixing the courts estate and priority listing and guaranteed fixtures for all RASSO cases.”
Following the funding announcement Sackman praised the work of CPS prosecutors:
“I know that prosecutors will play a vital role in our ambitious missions to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, deliver swifter justice for victims, and double down on knife crime as we make our streets safer for everyone.”
FDA submits evidence to inquiry into Crown Court backlogs
Using the findings of the report we have submitted written evidence to the Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into Crown Court backlogs.
Our submission to this inquiry is a great opportunity to get the report’s recommendations in front of key legislators who are examining the issues impacting our CPS members working lives.
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