"Not reassuring to the public" - Bar Council reaction to new disclosure findings
Despite help from the Bar and solicitors to improve disclosure in all cases from the smallest to the most complex, there is more to do, says the Bar Council.
Responding to the HMCPSI Disclosure of unused material in the Crown Court report (embargoed until tomorrow), Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:
“Any improvement in the disclosure of unused material in cases, as identified in this report, is a positive step. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was right to invite the inspectors in to take a closer look at what was going wrong. However, we must not forget that victims of crime and those accused of committing crimes can be the most affected by disclosure failures and the fact that in less than 50 per cent of the cases inspected was disclosure done properly is not reassuring to the public.
“As the report acknowledges, there has been further investment in the CPS. Despite help from the Bar and solicitors to improve disclosure in all cases from the smallest to the most complex, there is more to do. There still needs to be more investment in people, training and resources in the police, the CPS and the criminal justice system generally, to tackle the pervasive problems with disclosure.”
