Northern Ireland

Covid-19 blamed for adding years of delay to full serious sexual offence justice reform

More than a year after Sir John Gillen delivered 253 recommendations the Department of Justice has acknowledged just 11 per cent have been introduced
More than a year after Sir John Gillen delivered 253 recommendations the Department of Justice has acknowledged just 11 per cent have been introduced More than a year after Sir John Gillen delivered 253 recommendations the Department of Justice has acknowledged just 11 per cent have been introduced

COVID-19 has been blamed for delaying until 2025 the full overhaul of how the justice system deals with serious sexual offences - despite three quarters of improvements not needing law changes.

More than a year after Sir John Gillen delivered 253 recommendations, the Department of Justice has acknowledged just 11 per cent have been introduced.

In May 2019, the retired judge said improvements could come within "weeks and months" as he delivered his final report.

However, its implementation plan, now made public, shows even relatively straightforward initiatives such as increasing juror awareness of their responsibilities in relation to social media will not be brought in until summer 2021 and "education/awareness raising campaigns, research and training" not delivered until spring 2022.

An advertising campaign did take place in March 2020 with the message "without consent it is sexual crime".

Justice Minister Naomi Long emphasised the department's "commitment to take forward the recommendations in full, subject to the funding", with £1.6 million committed this year.

Angela Fitzpatrick, head of Gillen Review Programme Team, said "much progress has already been made".

But the global coronavirus pandemic has thrown its plans off course, with the original three-year `phasing in' extended to a five-year period from 2020/21 until 2024/25 "in light of the impact of Covid-19".

The department insists: "Despite the challenges that Covid-19 presents, all criminal justice partners remain committed to implementing Sir John's review", but admits "there has been an impact on resourcing in specific areas and in some cases, original plans have had to be adapted in light of social distancing requirements or other Covid-19 impacts".

Among the 11 per cent "fully implemented" have been a "voluntary protocol" in Belfast to speed up sexual offences cases involving children under 13 which has been in place since September.

The PSNI has also completed an "operational re-structure to have two separate teams dedicated to cases involving children - one for current cases and one for historic cases to allow more focus on current, acute cases involving children, ensuring they are dealt with sensitively and speedily".

Since November Crown Court trials involving vulnerable witnesses in serious sexual offence cases have case management and review hearings to ensure "delay in securing trial hearings is minimised".

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and PSNI have also been working together to improve the disclosure process.

Case Progression Officers have been brought in by Court Service and the PPS to reduce delays in Laganside, Newry and Craigavon.

The department admitted "there may be some recommendations which are not taken forward, or those which are implemented in a different way", but insisted it will be "respecting the spirit of the review".

The minister said: "Cases involving sexual crime are some of the most intrusive and difficult for victims to endure. We want to do everything in our power to support victims of these crimes through every stage of their journey through the justice system.

Ms Long confirmed the establishment of a new Remote Evidence Centre reported by The Irish News in February.

She also pointed to a reform bill designed to remove the use of oral evidence as part of the pre-trial committal process and `scoping work' on providing additional support to young victims and witnesses.