Expect to be met with apathy at best, more likely positive resistance. But Foster said: “Even if true, this ‘well we would almost certainly have got round to dropping the cases in the end’ defence is scant comfort to those who will have had to suffer months if not years of unnecessary uncertainty and opprobrium. More than 900 criminal cases were dropped in England and Wales last year due to a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence, it has been reported. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Site Map | Accessibility | Pricing Transparency. Identifying evidence you know exists but the police have not disclosed can help demonstrate police disclosure failings. On such empty rhetoric all will easily agree. Last year, 916 people had charges dropped over a failure to disclose evidence - up from 537 in 2014-15. Most of us would expect the police to want to catch the criminals. The service said many of those cases might eventually have been stopped. Inconvenient evidence that would undermine a prosecution or assist a suspect doesn't achieve either of those aims, so it doesn't have any real importance. The National Disclosure Improvement Plan (NDIP) published in January 2018 demonstrated the unprecedented joint commitment and focus of the police, the CPS and the College of Policing to finding solutions to the problem of getting disclosure right. You can search our Solicitor & Barrister database for listings of solicitors & barrister in your area that provide the services you require. A CPS spokesperson said: “We keep prosecutions under review throughout the life of the case. Required fields are marked *. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Pity those suspects where the police hold or could hold evidence that helps their case that they don't know about. Stone King can arrange face to face or virtual meetings to suit you. What can a suspect do about this? The weekly online and monthly printed national newspaper for prisoners and detainees, Prison Related Help & Support Organisations, New Chief Inspector vows to be “frank” about prisons. Your email address will not be published. I don’t actually think the CPS wants things to change! The truth is they see themselves first and foremost as adversaries to the defence and, in some cases, deliberately withhold exculpatory evidence. Text messages. The failure to disclose such material is a “Brady violation,” a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Click here to find out how we can continue to support all of our valued clients as usual. And more fool those who expect a court to help their quest for fair disclosure. The comments in the dossier include one prosecutor saying: “In even quite serious cases, officers have admitted to deliberately withholding sensitive material from us and they frequently approach us only a week before trial. According to The Times the failure by police and prosecutors to disclose vital evidence in criminal cases to the defence is routine and deliberate. The defence need the energy and resource to pursue every line, whether or not this is how the system should work. Vital evidence was simply not disclosed by the police. Last month I finally got Disclosure from the CPS, via a SAR/ROAR application. More than 900 criminal cases were dropped in England and Wales last year due to a failure by police or prosecutors to disclose evidence, it has been reported. The state should do all of these things for you, but they don't. Because this is what happens in cases every day, all over the country, in magistrates and crown courts. It might not be up-to-date with changes in the law and we do not guarantee the accuracy of any information provided at the time of reading. And that is exactly what most police officers, perhaps understandably, think is their job as well.