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Rapes cases in England and Wales are being reviewed
over lack of evidence sharing.
Police and prosecutors must disclose evidence that
might help the defense or harm the prosecution in the lead-up
to a criminal trial.
However, a number of recent cases have been dropped
after evidence already seen by police emerged.
Every rape case in England and Wales is set to be reviewed over a
lack of evidence shared in a number of previous trials, according to the BBC — and it could mean that some
cases get dropped.
The site reported that all "current rape and serious sexual
assault cases" will be reviewed "as a matter of urgency" in order
to ensure evidence is being shared by police and prosecutors, who
must disclose evidence that might help the defense case or harm
the prosecution's case in the lead up to a criminal trial.
A number of recent rape cases have been dropped due to evidence —
particularly digital evidence — not being shared with defense
lawyers — and the number has increased by 70% in the last two
years. This involevs "potentially key information taken from
mobile phones, computers, and social media" not being shared.
Most recently, a rape charge against Oxford University
student Oliver Mears was dropped the night before his trial
after a diary which supported his case was uncovered, according
to the BBC.
Back in December, 12 counts of rape and sexual assault were
dropped against Liam Allan when messages from the alleged victim
asking for "casual sex" emerged — and they had already been seen
by police.
Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders said the
disclosure issues were "deep-rooted and systemic,"
adding: "Changes in society, such as the vastly increasing
use of social media and mobile phone messaging, bring challenges
that all parts of the criminal justice system, despite the
resourcing challenges, must deal with."
An "improvement plan" is reportedly being put into place
by The Crown Prosecution Service, National Police Chiefs'
Council (NPCC), and College of Policing, which will
review disclosure training and develop specialist disclosure
experts in every force.
"We are taking steps to identify any individual cases of concern
as a matter of urgency," Saunders said.
According to Sky
News, Saunders admitted that more cases will be dropped
because of these issues.
"Inevitably, bringing forward these case reviews means it is
likely that there may be a number of cases which we will be
stopping at around the same time," she said.
However, Chief Constable Nick Ephgrave of the NPCC said that
disclosure of evidence has "too often been seen as an
administrative task completed at the end of an investigation,"
adding that problems have been "exacerbated by the rapid
expansion of digital material involved in almost every case."
"We now need to firmly embed disclosure in the investigative
mindset from the outset of any investigation," he said. "Reviews
of recent cases have shown a range of issues leading to failures
but there has been no intention by officers to conceal
information."
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