| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Ms Drown: One thing that the Home Office report "Speaking up for Justice" pointed out was that witnesses wanted certainty. Does my hon. Friend agree that only if protection can be provided automatically will that certainty be possible for witnesses?
Angela Smith: My hon. Friend reinforces the point that I have made and want to develop. Special measures such as screening the victim from the accused and giving evidence by video link--I would say that live video link was appropriate--and clearing the court while the victim gives evidence are all excellent in that they enhance the protection of the victim without being detrimental to the right of the accused to a fair trial. Will my hon. Friend the Minister consider the suggestion that those who report sexual offences could automatically receive the protection unless they did not want it? I fear that, without an automatic right, some women will be deterred from going to court--the very thing that the Bill is trying to avoid. The lack of an automatic right could also lead to different rights in different courts. Again, uncertainty about whether protection will be available could be a deterrent. Failing that, we need to give clear guidelines to courts so that women can be clearly assured that they will get protection. As my hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Ms Drown) said, uncertainty may deter women from taking their case to court.
I greatly welcome clause 40, which restricts questioning about a victim's past sexual history. However, some concern remains about how such questioning could ever be relevant. The fact that the court has leave to allow such evidence to be submitted could also be a deterrent to being prepared to go to court. I was pleased to hear my right hon. Friend's assurances on the matter earlier, but I am not sure that they went far enough to reassure all victims. If he will not consider that leave to allow such
evidence should be omitted entirely, I hope that guidelines and strict instructions to the court will be made to protect victims.
The right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) gave the example of previous allegations of rape made by the same alleged victim. I hazard that that is an issue not of sexual history but of criminal actions and criminal history, and that that would be appropriate to raise.
There can be no doubt that the Bill enhances youth justice and introduces many criminal evidence measures that will be warmly and widely welcomed. I have been surprised at the number of letters and telephone calls that I have had from constituents on this issue. The correspondence was warmly supportive of the Bill. As all hon. Members will know from going about their duties in their constituencies, it is with issues such as these that our constituents want the House to deal.
Mr. Robert Syms (Poole):
It is a great pleasure to contribute to this debate on an important subject. Youth justice is a high priority for all political parties. If we do not get it right, the collateral damage to society can be tremendous. It is right that the focus of the Bill is on first-time offenders. It is a fact that 80 per cent. of people who commit offences do not do so again. Nevertheless, there is still substantial room for improvement. The measures to set up youth offender panels have to be welcomed, but I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Ryedale (Mr. Greenway) that the prescription that every young offender has to go through the procedure, bearing in mind the resource implications, needs to be looked at. In certain instances--my hon. Friend set out a number--it might not be appropriate to tie up resources on someone who has fallen into bad company and committed an offence but who has a good record, when the focusing of resources on other individuals would have a far greater effect.
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Ryedale that the establishment of youth offender panels will be rather a long haul. We have pilot schemes and it will take quite a while to get the panels system up and running. There are serious resource implications, and I hope that the Government will address them.
The thinking behind youth offender panels is good. I know that there is something of a fashion for restorative justice, but it is in any case a good principle. John Braithwaite, an American criminologist, has written a number of books and articles on it. We have heard about the New Zealand experience, where people went back to the Maori inheritance to deal with youths. The Home Secretary mentioned the experience of Scottish children's panels. All those ideas can be adapted to our youth justice system. Making restitution to victims has to be a key factor, as has reintegration into a law-abiding society. The way in which many young people are brought up--unfortunately, many come from broken homes--means that it is important to reintegrate them into a law-abiding
society. Taking responsibility for behaviour must be an important part of learning to lead a law-abiding life. All such approaches are to be commended.
I am extremely pleased about the measures to involve parents and keep them involved. That must be a key factor in ensuring that a young person who has gone off the straight and narrow returns to responsible life. Such involvement is also important for the parents; the most surprising thing about modern life is that, sometimes, parents are not aware of what their children are getting up to. In Dorset, we ran a scheme in which the police picked up young children carrying alcohol and took them back to their homes still carrying the alcohol. In that way, parents were made aware that their 13, 14 or 15-year-old child had been out drinking, sometimes having taken alcohol from their home. The scheme has been pretty successful because parents who think that their young child does no wrong have had to address the fact that their child was out--perhaps up to no good--mixing with others and drinking alcohol. That is one way of confronting parents and their involvement is most important.
Another important point is that the views of victims may be sought, although only with their approval. One of the weaknesses of our criminal justice system is that victims often feel totally uninvolved in what goes on after a crime and are sometimes surprised by the decisions of the Crown Prosecution Service. Under the measures in the Bill, if victims are amenable, they can give their opinions as to what happens to the young offender. That is important not only for the young individual, but for the victims, because they will have some involvement in what happens after what may have been a most traumatic event.
Young people are the key to achieving a law-abiding society, and any investment that we make will be well worth it; the savings will be phenomenal. There are many concerns in society. In 1992, when I was a prospective candidate in Walsall, North, one of the experiences that surprised me was that kids on a new estate were going round ringing the doorbells of elderly residents. Even at that level, great distress can be caused to elderly people. If we can catch people, especially at the time of their first offence, it will be a major improvement, provided that the response is not too prescriptive and that we put in enough resources to make the measures work. There is a degree of flexibility in the proposals for the orders--between three and 12 months--and that is to be welcomed. The conferences on progress are also welcome. A reasonable plan might be set out at the beginning of the process, but things might turn out differently. The fact that the referral order or contract can be varied is important.
The public must have confidence in our youth justice system, and I hope that the measure will assist in that. It is a key area for the future and I welcome the youth offender panels, but with the concerns that I have expressed.
I listened carefully when the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) expressed his concerns. I share the concerns about pre-recorded evidence; video conferencing links are good, and the fact that they are live is an important factor. I hope that the Home Secretary's earlier comments that he will be responsive to debates in Committee will apply to that matter; it is one that we must consider carefully.
In relation to cross-examination by unrepresented defendants, we heard of some appalling cases of witnesses being treated badly. However, I still have reservations about whether two or three extremely public and widely reported cases should mean that the rights of other people, some of whom may have cross-examined and been acquitted, should be trampled on. We are considering taking away the rights of defendants, and that needs careful examination.
Angela Smith:
I accept the point made by the hon. Gentleman in relation to those two cases, and that we might be taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, in those cases, the women who had been raped were cross-examined by their alleged rapists. Does he not accept that that is a deterrent to other women to report crime and go to court?
Mr. Syms:
I accept what the hon. Lady says. They were appalling cases and no one would have any sympathy with what happened. However, there may be other means of controlling such matters. The hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy spoke about judges briefing juries on procedure, and that would be beneficial.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |