Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Drawing on empirical data gathered at two courts in the north of England, this paper examines the administration of courts and the occupational cultures of practitioners and court staff running domestic violence trials in the magistrates' courts. The paper evaluates the practical outcomes of recent moves by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to improve conviction rates for these cases and the impact this has had on victims of domestic violence who are reluctant to give evidence. The resultant discussion examines the role of domestic violence victims in the decision to prosecute. It is argued that no radical alteration of the present system of trials in England and Wales is required to fulfil the expectations of these victims, but rather occupational cultures must be adapted to civilise that system, treating domestic violence victims as contributors to and participants in the process rather than as representatives of a particularly difficult and problematic source of work.

Keywords

domestic violence courts criminal procedure occupational cultures

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler

(1987). Rape on Trial. Routledge; London.

Angle

Malam

Carey

(2003). Witness Satisfaction: Findings from the Witness Satisfaction Survey 2002. Home Office Online Report 19/03. Home Office; London.

Ashworth

(2000). Rights, Defendants' Rights and Criminal Procedure. In Integrating a Victim Perspective Within Criminal Justice: International Debates ( Crawford

Goodey

, eds) pp. 185–204. Ashgate Dartmouth; Aldershot.

Brienen

Hoegen

(2001). Victims of Crime in 22 European Criminal Justice Systems: The Implementation of Recommendation (85) 11 of the Council of Europe on the Position of the Victim in the Framework of Criminal Law and Procedure. Wolf Legal Productions; Niemegen.

Butts

(2001). Introduction: Problem-Solving Courts. Law & Policy, 23, 121–124.

Buzawa

(2003). Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response. Sage; Thousand Oaks.

Chan

(1996). Changing Police Culture. British Journal of Criminology, 36, 1–26.

Cook

Burton

Robinson

Vallely

(2004). Evaluation of Specialist Domestic Violence Courts / Fast Track Systems. Department for Constitutional Affairs; London.

cjsonline (2005). More Specialist Courts to Beat Domestic Violence [online]. Available at: http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/the_cjs/whats_new/news-3229.html (accessed 06/02/08).

10.

Cretney

Davis

(1995). Punishing Violence. Routledge; London.

11.

Cretney

Davis

(1997). Prosecuting Domestic Assault: Victims Failing Courts or Courts Failing Victims? Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 146–157.

12.

Criminal Justice System (2006). National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan: Progress Report 2005/06. Home Office; London.

13.

Criminal Justice System (2007). Working Together to Cut Crime and Deliver Justice: Strategic Plan for 2008–2011. Office for Criminal Justice Reform; London.

14.

Crown Prosecution Service (2004). The Code for Crown Prosecutors. CPS; London.

15.

Crown Prosecution Service (2005a). CPS Launches Revised Domestic Violence Policy [online]. Available at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/archive/2005/lll_05.html (accessed 06.02.08).

16.

Crown Prosecution Service (2005b). The Prosecutors' Pledge [online]. Available at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/prosecution/prosecutor_pledge.html (accessed 03/02/07).

17.

Danet

(1980). Language in the Legal Process. Law and Society Review, 14, 514–528.

18.

Doak

O'Mahony

(2006). The Vengeful Victim? Assessing the Attitudes of Victims Participating in Restorative Youth Conferencing. British Journal of Criminology, 13, 1–21.

19.

Dobash

R.P.

Dobash

(1992). Women, Violence and Social Change. Routledge; London.

20.

Edwards

(2004). An Ambiguous Participant: The Crime Victim and Criminal Justice Decision-Making. British Journal of Criminology, 44, 967–982.

21.

Ellison

(2001). The Adversarial Process and the Vulnerable Witness. Oxford University Press; Oxford.

22.

Ellison

(2002). Cross-examination and the Intermediary: Bridging the Language Divide. Criminal Law Review, Feb, 114–127.

23.

Ellison

(2003). Responding to Victim Withdrawal in Domestic Violence Prosecutions. Criminal Law Review, 760–772.

24.

Erez

(2000). Integrating a Victim Perspective in Criminal Justice Through Victim Impact Statements. In Integrating a Victim Perspective Within Criminal Justice: International Debates ( Crawford

Goodey

, eds) pp. 165–184. Ashgate Dartmouth; Aldershot.

25.

Hall

(2009). Victims of Crime: Policy and Practice in Criminal Justice. Willan; Cullompton.

26.

Hamlyn

Phelps

Sattar

(2004a). Key Findings from the Surveys of Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses 2000/01 and 2003. Home Office Research Findings 240. Home Office; London.

27.

Hamlyn

Phelps

Turtle

Sattar

(2004b). Are Special Measures Working? Evidence from Surveys of Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses. Home Office Research Study 283. Home Office; London.

28.

Hartman

Belknap

(2003). Beyond the Gatekeepers: Court Professionals' Self-Reported Attitudes about and Experiences with Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Cases. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 30, 349–373.

29.

Her Majesty's Sationary Office (2003). Explanatory Notes to Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill. HMSO; London.

30.

Holdaway

(1983). Inside the British Police: A Force at Work. Blackwell; Oxford.

31.

Home Office (2004). Criminal Case Management Framework. Home Office; London.

32.

Home Office (2005). Hearing the Relatives of Murder and Manslaughter Victims: The Government's Plans to Give the Bereaved Relatives of Murder and Manslaughter Victims a Say in Criminal Proceedings: Consultation. Home Office; London.

33.

Hoyle

Cape

Morgan

Sanders

(1999). Evaluation of the ‘One Stop Shop’ and Victim Statement Pilot Projects. Home Office; London.

34.

Hoyle

(2007). Feminism, Victimology and Domestic Violence. In Handbook of Victdims and Victimology ( Walklate

, ed.) pp. 146–174. Willan; Cullompton.

35.

Interdepartmental Working Group on the Treatment of Vulnerable or Intimidated Witnesses in the Criminal Justice System (1998). Speaking up for Justice. HMSO; London.

36.

Jordan

(2004). Beyond Belief? Police, Rape and Women's Credibility. Criminal Justice, 4, 29–59.

37.

JUSTICE (1998). Victims in Criminal Justice, Report of the JUSTICE Committee on the Role of Victims in Criminal Justice. JUSTICE; London.

38.

Lees

(2002). Carnal Knowledge: Rape on Trial. Women's Press; London.

39.

Luckjenbroers

(1996). “In your own Words … ”: Questions and Answers in a Supreme Court Trial. Journal of Pragmatics, 27, 477–503.

40.

Macpherson

Sir W.

(1999). The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry by Sir William Macpheson of Cluny. HMSO; London.

41.

Maguire

Kynch

(2000a). Public Perceptions and Victims' Experiences of Victim Support: Findings from the 1998 British Crime Survey. Home Office Occasional Paper. Home Office; London.

42.

Maguire

Kynch

(2000b). Victim Support: Findings from the 1998 British Crime Survey. Home Office Research Findings 117. Home Office; London.

43.

Mawby

(2007). Public Sector Services and the Victim of Crime. In Handbook of Victims and Victimology ( Walklate

, ed.) pp. 209–239. Willan; Cullompton.

44.

Nicholas

Kershaw

Walker

(2007). Crime in England and Wales 2006/07. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 1107. Home Office; London.

45.

Radford

Stanko

(1991). Violence against Women and Children: the Contradiction of Crime Control under Patriarchy. In The Politics of Crime Control ( Stenson

Cowell

, eds). Sage; London. [AUTHOR: PAGE NOS?]

46.

Reiner

(2000). The Politics of the Police. 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press; Oxford.

47.

Rock

(1993). The Social World of an English Crown Court: Witnesses and Professionals in the Crown Court Centre at Wood Green. Clarendon Press; Oxford.

48.

Rock

(2004). Constructing Victims' Rights: The Home Office, New Labour and Victims. Clarendon Press; Oxford.

49.

Sanders

(2002). Victim Participation in an Exclusionary Criminal Justice System. In New Visions of Crime Victims ( Hoyle

Young

, eds) pp. 197–222. Hart Publishing; Portland.

50.

Shapland

Willmore

Duff

(1985). Victims and the Criminal Justice System. Gower; Aldershot.

51.

Smart

(1990). Feminist Approaches to Criminology. In Feminist Perspectives in Criminology ( Gelsthorpe

Morris

, eds) pp. 70–84. Open University Press; Buckingham.

52.

Smith

(1989). Domestic Violence. HORS 107. Home Office; London.

53.

Stanko

(1988). Hidden Violence against Women. In Victims of Crime: New Deal? ( Maguire

Pointing

, eds). Open University Press; Milton Keynes. [AUTHOR: PAGE NOS?]

54.

Temkin

(1987). Rape and the Legal Process. Sweet & Maxwell; London.

55.

Temkin

(1999). Reporting Rape in London: A Qualitative Study. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 17–41.

56.

Walklate

(2007). Imagining the Victim of Crime. Open University Press; Maidenhead.

57.

Walby

Allen

(2004). Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey. HORS 276. Home Office; London.

58.

Wallace

(2007). Victimology: Legal, Psychological and Social Perspectives. 2nd edition. Pearson; Boston.

59.

Whitehead

(2001). Witness Satisfaction: Findings from Witness Satisfaction Survey 2000. Home Office Research Study 230. Home Office; London.

Prosecuting Domestic Violence: New Solutions to Old Problems?

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References