Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government
Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government
cases which had been instructed for prosecution because corroboration existedin the form of non Cadder compliant statements to the police. A far greaternumber can be assumed to exist where no such statements existed and thecomplaints made are not reported to procurator fiscal in the first place.7.2.31 In order to explore this issue further and to give some empirical underpinningto the arguments being advanced, the Review commissioned research fromCOPFS. The research looked at two sets of cases: (1) for the entire calendaryear 2010, all cases that were put on petition, but marked as ‘no furtherproceedings due to insufficient evidence’ (458 cases identified); and (2) forthe six month period July to December 2010, all cases reported to the NationalSexual Crimes Unit where the accused was not placed on petition due to lackof evidence (141 cases identified).7.2.32 These cases were examined by experienced procurators fiscal using a twostage test. First, consideration was given to whether there was sufficientevidence to proceed if the requirement for corroboration did not apply.Secondly, of those cases that passed this threshold, a calculation was made ofthe number which would have further survived the test applied by the CrownProsecution Service in England and Wales in deciding whether to prosecute.That test is whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction.7.2.33 The results of this work were quite striking, raising serious questions as theextent to which the requirement for corroboration may be preventing theprosecution of cases that could result in convictions. For the first set, it was274
judged that 268 of the 458 cases considered (58.5%) would have beenprosecuted on the two-stage test applied. For the second set, it was consideredthat 95 of the 141 cases examined (67%) would have been prosecuted. Itshould also be noted that the cases considered in the first set covered a numberof categories of crime. Most predominant were crimes of violence, but crimesof dishonesty and drugs offences also featured. Across the categories, asubstantial proportion of the cases considered were judged to have had areasonable prospect of conviction if prosecuted. The full research report canbe seen at Annex A.7.2.34 The Review has no reason to believe that these figures are not reasonablyindicative of what might happen in the absence of the requirement forcorroboration. They suggest that a substantial proportion of cases, which arecurrently not prosecuted because they fail the corroboration test, could beprosecuted with the reasonable prospect of securing a conviction. If that is thecase, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the requirement for corroboration isan impediment to justice, rather than a safeguard, in a significant number ofcases.Consideration7.2.35 In considering the utility of the requirement, the Review is not starting from ablank sheet of paper. The Review is not considering whether or not torecommend introducing such a requirement. Rather, it is acutely consciousthat the requirement not only exists but is also perceived as a key element in275
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judged that 268 of the 458 cases considered (58.5%) would have beenprosecuted on the two-stage test applied. For the second set, it was consideredthat 95 of the 141 cases examined (67%) would have been prosecuted. Itshould also be noted that the cases considered in the first set covered a numberof categories of crime. Most predominant were crimes of violence, but crimesof dishonesty <strong>and</strong> drugs offences also featured. Across the categories, asubstantial proportion of the cases considered were judged to have had areasonable prospect of conviction if prosecuted. The full research report canbe seen at Annex A.7.2.34 The Review has no reason to believe that these figures are not reasonablyindicative of what might happen in the absence of the requirement forcorroboration. They suggest that a substantial proportion of cases, which arecurrently not prosecuted because they fail the corroboration test, could beprosecuted with the reasonable prospect of securing a conviction. If that is thecase, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the requirement for corroboration isan impediment to justice, rather than a safeguard, in a significant number ofcases.Consideration7.2.35 In considering the utility of the requirement, the Review is not starting from ablank sheet of paper. The Review is not considering whether or not torecommend introducing such a requirement. Rather, it is acutely consciousthat the requirement not only exists but is also perceived as a key element in275
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