Call for witness protection review after teenager's identity revealed
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is being called on to review the way it deals with vulnerable young people after the personal details of a teenage witness were inadvertently given to gang members.
It emerged this week that the CPS and Metropolitan Police paid compensation to the witness four years ago after the blunder during a gang violence case.
A CPS spokeswoman said that the incident "was a one-off" and that "there was no need to carry out a review into procedures".
She said: "We deal with one million cases and many involve vulnerable young people and this has not happened. This was a specific case."
But Mothers Against Murder and Aggression founder Lyn Costello said a review is needed to give potential witnesses greater confidence to testify in similar cases.
She said: "It does not matter that this was a one-off case. If it has happened once it can happen again. There needs to be a review into procedures and systems to ensure it can't. This story will have been reported and widely read by those who may be needed to come forward in cases. They need to have greater assurance that their details will be protected."
The CPS spokeswoman added: "This payment relates to a case dating from four years ago where information was passed to the defence, which led to concerns about the safety of a young witness and their family, so that they had to be provided with protective measures.
"The CPS recognised that its actions in this case fell below our accepted standard and, together with the Metropolitan Police Service, reached an agreed settlement of damages and an apology, with the parties concerned. We regret that on this occasion we did not provide the support which is normally available to witnesses."
Detective chief superintendent Stuart Cundy, head of the Met’s Trident gang crime command, said it was crucial that lessons were learnt from every case in order to improve support for witnesses, while Alison Saunders, chief crown prosecutor for London, stressed that measures were in place to protect those coming forward.
"We are now working with the police on the Trident gang command in protecting vulnerable witnesses with enhanced measures so they are anonymous throughout a criminal case," Saunders said.
