Extracts from questions to Justice Ministers in the House of
Commons
- Knife Crime Prosecutions
- Rape Convictions
Knife Crime Prosecutions
(Montgomeryshire) (Con)
2. What recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General on
the prosecution of people who carry knives. [912594]
(South Basildon and East
Thurrock) (Con)
9. What recent discussions he has had with the Attorney General
on the prosecution of people who carry knives. [912601]
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice ()
I work closely with the Attorney General and Home Office
Ministers to ensure that the criminal justice system commands
public confidence and tackles crime effectively. To address this
and other serious crimes, we are recruiting an additional 20,000
police officers, investing £85 million in the Crown Prosecution
Service and building an additional 10,000 prison places, and this
is together with the work of police and crime commissioners in
setting up violence reduction units.
The best way to prevent knife crime is to take knives out of
circulation and off the streets. What steps is my right hon. and
learned Friend taking in conjunction with the Attorney General to
ensure that people who carry knives are prosecuted?
Of course, the prosecuting authorities take knife crime
incredibly seriously. In 2015, minimum custodial sentences of six
months for repeat knife crime possession were introduced, and in
the year ending March of this year 83% of offenders received a
custodial sentence for that type of repeat offence.
Does the Justice Secretary agree that the sentence should reflect
the serious nature of knife crime and the serious damage it does
to our communities? Does he support the work of organisations
such as Only Cowards Carry, which help to highlight the
devastating damage knife crime does to the individuals involved,
on both sides?
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the hard work of that local
organisation and many others, such as the Ben Kinsella Trust,
which do so much to educate young people about the folly of
carrying knives. The new knife crime prevention orders,
introduced by this Government as part of the Offensive Weapons
Act 2019, will be a key tool in preventing knife crime, and we
are working with the Home Office to develop operational guidance,
because we want to get on with introducing that programme.
(Darlington) (Lab)
Yesterday, it was reported that knife crime in my relatively safe
constituency has risen by 50%, which is extremely worrying,
particularly for parents with teenage children in Darlington.
Will the Justice Secretary look at the fact that since 2010
funding for youth offending teams has been halved?
The hon. Lady, like all of us in this House, whether we are
parents or not, shares the worry about young people either
carrying knives or coming into contact with people who do. The
truth about the trends in knife crime offending are these: there
was an alarming rise 10 years ago and there was then a decline,
but we are seeing a rise again. We are taking a twin-pronged
approach, which is about not just sentencing, but intervention.
That is why announcements about youth funding at last week’s
Conservative party conference are welcome and indeed this is part
of the work our youth offending teams are doing all across the
country.
(Manchester Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State may be aware of the recent murder of
high-flying teenager Yousef Makki from Manchester. His killers
were found not guilty of either manslaughter or murder, coming as
they were from affluent Hale. The case stands in stark contrast
with many I have raised here recently involving groups of young
black men from Moss Side, who are all serving mandatory life
sentences under joint enterprise. Given that the Secretary of
State’s Government’s own race audit and Lammy review found that
there were burning injustices in our criminal justice system when
it comes to race, background, class and wealth, what are the
Government doing to address these very different outcomes in the
same cases?
The hon. Lady raises an interesting point. I think she would
agree that it is difficult to extrapolate trends from an
individual case, however concerning and deeply distressing that
case was. I think the lesson is that knife crime respects and
knows no class or race boundaries. We should not stigmatise this,
particularly outside London, as a crime that is exclusively based
upon any racial profile—that is wrong. However, I take the point
that she makes and clearly we need to look carefully across the
piece as to whether we are sometimes being a bit
shy—institutionally shy—about addressing knife crime in some of
the less typical places.
Rape Convictions
(Birmingham, Edgbaston)
(Lab/Co-op)
3. For what reasons the proportion of rape cases that result in
conviction has declined since 2010. [912595]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice ()
The latest CPS figures from the “Violence Against Women and Girls
Report 2018-19” show that the conviction rate for those cases
taken to court has increased from 58% in the previous year to 63%
in the year ending March 2019. However, the number of cases
reaching court, which peaked in 2015, has declined significantly,
which is a substantial cause for concern. A number of steps are
being taken to address that, including recruiting 20,000 extra
police officers and giving the CPS £85 million a year in
additional funding.
Many women, including many survivors of rape and sexual violence,
have lost confidence in our justice system, due partly to the
appallingly low rate of prosecution for rape. Women’s
organisations are calling on the Government to launch a fully
independent review of how the justice system handles rape cases.
Will the Minister take this opportunity to join Labour in
committing to deliver on that?
A review by a sub-committee of the Criminal Justice Board is
already under way and is due to report in spring next year—in
just a few months’ time. That will be accompanied by an action
plan, which is clearly needed, as the hon. Lady’s question
pointed out. Just a few weeks ago, the Government announced
additional funding for the victims of sexual violence; that extra
£5 million a year is a 50% increase, bringing annual spending to
£13 million a year to support victims of these crimes in exactly
the way that the hon. Lady rightly describes.
Mr Speaker
It was remiss of me not to congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his
becoming a Minister. I hope he enjoys it; I feel sure that he is
uncontrollably excited about the prospects that lie ahead.
(Guildford) (Ind)
The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Guildford, of which I
am a patron, is overwhelmed by women and men requesting help. The
abuse often happened years ago, and a fear of coming forward
means that the perpetrators do not face prosecution. The National
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s Close the
Loophole campaign aims to ensure that young men and women are
better protected. I do not know what progress has been made in
reviewing the Sexual Offences Act 2003; perhaps the Minister can
update us.
My right hon. Friend rightly draws attention to the importance of
giving victims the confidence to come forward and not only report
these offences but take them through the system—there is quite a
high drop-out rate between the reporting of an offence and the
case being prosecuted in court. She mentions a particular centre
in her constituency that is doing excellent work; I hope that
some of the additional money announced last week may find its way
into that centre’s hands to help with its work. The 2003 Act is
among the matters being considered as part of the review that
will report back in spring next year.
(Bath) (LD)
19. I, too, congratulate the Minister on his new post. Indeed, my
question is linked to his being in that post. We simply do not
have enough rape crisis centres and we need to support survivors
of rape better. Will the Government consider ratifying the
Istanbul convention? That should lead directly to their providing
the right number of rape crisis centres. Will the Minister meet
me to discuss that? [912611]
Via the Domestic Abuse Bill, which was debated last week, a
number of steps are being taken in the direction that the hon.
Lady points towards. I repeat the point I made a moment ago about
the additional funding for the victims of rape: there has been a
50% increase, which I hope will increase provision of the kind
that the hon. Lady rightly calls for.
