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Women's groups often complain that rape allegations relatively rarely result in offenders being convicted. One reason for that, at least in London, appears to be that so many cases are badly mishandled and collapse before they are concluded. This is the verdict of a damning report by Stephen Wooler, HM Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service, who has reported on the working of the service in nine London boroughs.
He graded none of them as good, but four in particular were downright poor — in Hackney, Lewisham, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. Failures in criminal justice in these disadvantaged areas are particularly disturbing. He says cases relating to crimes of all kinds, including rape, domestic violence and racially aggravated offences, are poorly prepared for and inadequately dealt with by the CPS.
The reasons for the failures are to some extent a result of particular London factors, including a transient population and difficulties with court schedules. But mostly the reason for the mishandling of cases is sheer incompetence — woefully inadequate preparation of cases, last-minute work and the reality that at least some CPS employees are patently sub-standard; a couple of years ago a judge complained of basic spelling errors in an indictment. As a result, Mr Wooler says that perhaps “several hundred” offenders are escaping justice and are left free to commit further crimes. The upshot is that the conviction rates for some categories of crime are lower in London than elsewhere.
It is profoundly demoralising for the police if they go to pains to bring charges against a suspect only to find the case collapses in court because of CPS incompetence. The service in London needs root and branch reform.
Delusions of grandeur
One of the most grandiose elements of Ken Livingstone's mayoralty was the London Development Agency “embassies” he established for London abroad to help promote the commercial interests of the capital. One of the six was in Venezuela — which signalled Mr Livingstone's apparent attempt to run a separate foreign policy — while another two are in India, in Mumbai and Delhi. It was one of Boris Johnson's election pledges to keep these de facto embassies, yet now he is closing the Indian ones.
The decision makes sense even if it runs counter to Mr Johnson's promise. There are any number of organisations dedicated to promoting the interests of British business, including London firms, abroad. First and foremost, there are British embassies, whose brief includes advancing the commercial interests of the country, but there are others, such as UK Trade and Invest. It is redundant for London to run its own separate promotional offices abroad. At a time when there are so many other demands on the mayoral budget and when the capital is overstretched to meet the cost of the Olympics, it is a waste of money to behave as if London were a city state with embassies abroad.
Queen and country
It seems remarkable that when there are casualties reported every few days from Afghanistan that recruitment to the Army in London is actually going up. But as we report today, a record 2,000 people are on the waiting list to join the military. It may be that the recession is a factor, with fewer alternative job options available. It may also be that, to their credit, at a time of conflict people still want to do their bit.
