Crown Prosecution Service

• That the Post Office was able to bring so many prosecutions – and to conduct them so appallingly – is because the company was not supervised.
• Just as any other public company or private citizen might, the Post Office brought private prosecutions.
• As co-directors of the Criminal Law Reform Now Network, we have been working on a review of private prosecutions since 2019.

How private prosecutions are brought

• To bring a private prosecution, a person or company asks a magistrate to issue a summons against the accused person.
• When the accused person answers the summons, an ordinary criminal case ensues – not a civil case.
• This is one duty which the Post Office manifestly declined to perform, as has been highlighted by statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Safeguards for private prosecutions

• There has long been the possibility for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) – who, since 1986, is the head of the CPS – to take over a private prosecution or discontinue it.
• Since 2009, the policy has been to discontinue private prosecutions which do not meet the same core standards (that there be a realistic prospect of prosecution or that a prosecution is in the public interest) with which the CPS must comply.
• However, it would normally be up to the accused person themselves to ask that the DDP or CPS should take it over, and the decision would still be made on the basis of the files in the possession of the private prosecutor.

Private prosecutions should be reformed, not abolished

• It is important not to look at private prosecutions entirely through the prism of the Post Office scandal.
• Where wealthy and determined victims have the means to investigate and prosecute effectively, they may, in fact, be doing a public service.
• Some succesful private prosecutions have led to confiscation orders being made against convicted defendants that have resulted in millions of pounds being handed over to the Treasury.
• In recent years, many legal firms specialising in private prosecutions have formed their own Private Prosecutors’ Association.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• LONDON, UK, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading Fortune 500 global technology services provider, has been selected to run and transform essential IT infrastructure for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for England and Wales.
• As part of the multi-year contract worth up to £9 million GBP ($11 million USD), DXC will become the CPS's trusted service desk partner, using the CPS's existing service management platform, ServiceNow.
• The CPS will benefit from DXC's secure hub, a dedicated platform providing 24/7 support to manage IT issues and helping to ensure uninterrupted service for its approx.
• DXC and the CPS will work together to integrate a "digital by default" strategy, driving down calls to service desk colleagues and promoting interactions via other channels such as self-service.

• The final sticking point, which the House of Lords tried to address in a series of amendments, was about the bill’s treatment of people who have experienced modern slavery.
• They will also not be able to access protections under the Modern Slavery Act.
• The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has said that the government wants to help “genuine” victims of modern slavery.
• As our analysis at the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre points out, prosecution usually relies on testimonies of the victims.

Modern slavery protections

• These were expanded in 2015 under the Modern Slavery Act to cover those experiencing slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour.
• Ministers have argued that irregular migrants are falsely claiming to be victims of modern slavery to avoid being deported.
• A very small proportion (7%) of people who arrived on small boats between 2018 and 2022 were referred as potential victims of modern slavery.
• Nevertheless, the government insists that removing modern slavery protections for non-UK citizens who enter the UK illegally will make people in these groups easier to detain and deport, and act as a deterrent for others.

Opposition in the Lords

• The House of Lords led opposition to the bill in Westminster, proposing a number of amendments on human rights grounds.
• One proposal was to add an exception to the legislation, so that people would not be disqualified from modern slavery protections even if they entered the UK illegally.
• For a number of reasons, it can take years for victims to come forward to police about their situation.

Immigration policy and modern slavery

• By dismantling modern slavery protections, while at the same time tightening immigration rules, they are arguably defying this political “balance”.
• The Illegal Migration Act will deny protections to thousands of people, and is based on unevidenced claims about abuse of the modern slavery system.
• The protection of those affected by modern slavery should be separated from the politics of immigration controls.

• Most people are still unaware that abortion at any stage of pregnancy is illegal in England and Wales, unless authorised by two doctors.
• As does any woman who uses legally obtained medication in any way other than as directed, for example, delaying taking the medication.
• Reading the sentencing hearing from this and other cases, it appears the law is being used to protect foetuses.
• This suggests the application of the law is focused on protecting foetuses that could survive if born alive – not on preventing abortion.

Extreme vulnerability for women

• The limited details of the woman’s experience that are outlined in the sentencing remark indicate that she, like every other woman whose case I have examined, acted from a place of extreme vulnerability and profound crisis.
• During the sentencing, the judge noted the woman’s “deep emotional attachment” to her unborn child, a common experience for women in similar situations.
• Women who self-abort pregnancies late in gestation do not necessarily want the unborn baby to die.

The role of the criminal law

• Some may argue that a late-term foetus is no different to a newborn baby, and that both need criminal legal protection.
• But such application of the criminal law carries significant risks for women, as well as for babies and foetuses.
• Whether the criminal law should protect foetal life is a complex question, but it is a question for parliament alone.
• It is time parliament involves itself in this area of criminal law, conducting a thorough and compassionate review.