Crown prosecutor sceptical of proposed change in sexual offence cases

Scotland’s lead prosecutor of sexual crimes has voiced scepticism over government proposals to use judges to break down any jury preconceptions in sexual offence cases.

Ministers are currently consulting on the introduction of statutory jury directions that, if backed, would require judges to tell juries to disregard the timing of when victims reported an attack and any lack of physical resistance.

Under current practice, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) can and do lead expert evidence in individual cases on the different ways in which people respond to sexual assault in an effort to combat misconceptions.

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However, the Scottish Government has said that there is a “strong case” for ensuring that, where relevant, directions are given to juries on such matters “without the need to lead expert evidence in every case”.

In an interview with Holyrood, advocate depute Kath Harper, who heads up COPFS’ National Sexual Crimes Unit, welcomed mandatory directions around the likes of delayed disclosure as “certainly something that should be looked at for the future”.  
 
However, she expressed reservations over relying on judicial directions - instead of the existing practice of using expert evidence - at this time. 
 
“It’s certainly one way of doing it,” she said. “From a personal perspective, I welcome leading the evidence of psychologists. At the end of the day, they are the experts. I find that their evidence is very compelling. 
 
“Whether one would want to translate that simply into mandatory directions is something that I think should be discussed. But one might lose the colour of the psychologists’ evidence, which I think juries welcome. 
 
“From a personal perspective, I welcome leading the evidence. But as societal understanding of these issues progresses – and I think it’s progressing all the time – it may be something that in the future might simply become a mandatory direction.”

Sexual crimes now make up between 65 and 70 per cent of prosecutions in the High Court, more than double the proportion less than a decade ago.