Child abuse cases ‘hit by office closures’

Solicitor General Oliver Heald has revealed all but one of the 39 local offices the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shared with detectives has been closed under the coalition.

The closures come despite ministers, the CPS, and crime experts all agreeing it is important for lawyers to be involved at the beginning of cases which are difficult to prosecute.

Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said the closures could be partly to blame for the drop in police referring cases of rape, child abuse and domestic violence to the CPS for prosecution.

She blamed the office closures on cost-cutting, adding she was worried more prosecutions would collapse if lawyers are not involved at the outset to help police gather evidence that will lead to a trial or guilty plea.

Mr Heald said the Government was consolidating a number of specialist centres so the CPS could offer better and more “efficient” support to police officers.

But Ms Thornberry, who uncovered the closures using a written parliamentary question, stressed the importance of close co-operation between police and lawyers who see each other on a daily basis rather than expertise being concentrated in “silos”.

She said: “If you can get a lawyer introduced at an early stage then you can make sure police officers are investigating effectively and that is likely to lead to fewer cases collapsing further down the line.”

The CPS is currently investigating why there has been a fall in the number of rape cases reported to police that officers then refer to the prosecutor, according to the Attorney General’s office.

Mr Heald said police will always be able to access expert lawyers as the CPS has set up a number of specialist centres for rape and sexual offences.