annual report - service prosecuting...
TRANSCRIPT
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Annual Report2014/15
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Contents
Foreword by Mr Andrew Cayley, DSP ................................................................... 4
Review of 2014/15 Main Achievements ............................................................. 5
Overview of the SPA Digest ........................................................................................ 6
SPA Relationship with the Attorney General’s Office .................................. 8
SPA workload ....................................................................................................................... 9
Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC) ......................................................................15
Iraq Historical Allegations Prosecutions Team (IHAPT) ..............................16
Advocacy Training and Development ..................................................................18
Victims and Witnesses ....................................................................................................21
Domestic Violence and Abuse ..................................................................................23
SPA Strategic Direction and Management Plan 2015/16 .........................24
Finance and Budgets ......................................................................................................27
SPA Manning Establishment .......................................................................................29
UK & GE Administration Structure...........................................................................30
SPA Structure, Team Composition ...........................................................................31
Glossary ...................................................................................................................................32
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Foreword
It is with great pride that I write this foreword to our Annual Report for the year 2015/2016. I have been in post as Director Service Prosecutions (DSP) for just over 18 months having replaced Bruce Houlder CB QC DL in December 2013. Bruce had been presented with the challenging
task of being the first Director and forming a single prosecuting authority from the three separate Service authorities. I have been most fortunate to be able to build upon the very firm foundations Bruce laid down here.
I pay tribute to all the civilian and military staff of the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA). I enjoy working with them and I very much appreciate all the support they have given me since my appointment as DSP. It is the hard work and dedication of the professional staff of the SPA that makes this place the successful and efficient organisation it is today.
There is no doubting that over the past few years the complexity of the work addressed by the SPA has increased. We will continue to be confronted by allegations of historic operational offending, from Iraq and Afghanistan, and increased reporting of both present day and historic sexual offending within the armed forces. A description of our training regime is contained elsewhere in this report but training and attachments to other national prosecuting authorities remains a priority for me. Every prosecutor at the SPA has to be at the top of their game whatever their seniority or experience. No one advises on or prosecutes rape or serious sexual offending in the Service Justice System without having completed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) course. Indeed the
SPA now runs its own RASSO courses in co-operation with the CPS.
The next year will see us advising on and in some instances prosecuting cases with a very high level of media interest and public scrutiny. I am continuing to work on our media profile and to professionalise the way we interact with the press.
I aim to continue to enhance co-operation and collaboration with those parts of the Services who support us and with the CPS and the Civilian Police. While members of the armed forces often require specialised consideration when being prosecuted for criminal and disciplinary offences they must also expect that wherever possible we adopt the same policies and working practices as national civilian prosecuting bodies.
We continue to have a zero tolerance policy for bullying, harassment and inappropriate behaviour at the SPA. Much more than this I would like us to be an organisation where our staff look forward to coming to work every day and where they are proud of our achievements and our contribution to the operational effectiveness of our armed forces.
While we are a national prosecuting authority we exist to support the dedicated men and women of our three Armed Services. If they commit a crime or military offence, over which we have jurisdiction, they can expect to be robustly and fairly prosecuted. If they fall victim to crime or military offence they can expect to be treated by us with humanity and dignity. We seek to bring order and discipline to their years of service, during which time they can expect to serve their country in an environment where crime and military offence is properly investigated and prosecuted.
Mr Andrew Cayley, CMG, QC, Director Service Prosecutions
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Review of 2014/15 Main Achievements
In addition to a number of high profile Court Martial trials and reviewing a significant number of referrals (the statistics representing these are dealt with elsewhere in this report) the year has been marked by two streams of activity.
The first is a dramatic increase in advice being given by the SPA in cases involving allegations of operational offending in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The second line of activity was the recognition of certain challenges facing the SPA and then implementing change to robustly face them. The two most immediate challenges were the increasing complexity of cases of alleged serious sexual offending and the anticipated increase in the requirement for pre-referral advice to the Service Police, and post-referral review, of cases concerning allegations of criminality by British forces during operations in Afghanistan. In response to the challenges the SPA teams were re-focused, panels of expertise were created (in order to capture and share legal knowledge and forensic experience).
We have also identified the need to enrich the mid-career training and development of prosecutors in response to the increasing specialisation of the practice of criminal law by civilian practitioners. Further, although SPA has been attentive to the needs of victims and, when appropriate, their next of kin as well as vulnerable witnesses it was recognised that the Authority could make adjustments (by the reallocation of personnel and by making enhancements to the digital case management system,) that would assist other elements of the SJS with similar responsibilities.
Finally, as the year progressed the details (in terms of troop numbers and the dates when units were due to move) of the Army’s withdrawal from Germany became apparent and SPA was then able to begin the process of planning for the closure of its office in Bielefeld, Germany.
Brigadier Stuart Lythgoe, Deputy Director Service Prosecutions
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Overview of the SPA DigestIndependence
The post of the Director of Service Prosecutions (DSP) was established by the Armed Forces Act 2006 (AFA 06). The DSP, who is appointed by HM the Queen, undertakes his duties independently from the Executive and the military Chain of Command. The DSP, who is a senior civil servant, is the head of the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA). Prosecutors working at the SPA are both military and civilian personnel the majority being serving members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force. There is a large support element to the work of the prosecutors at the SPA which consists of both civil servants and military personnel. All personnel (civilian and military alike) serving SPA answer only to the DSP in the performance of their duties. Apart from legitimate expressions of perceived Service interest in particular cases, at the time of referral of the cases to SPA, no direction, guidance or any other means of influencing the DSP and the personnel working under his direction is proffered by the Chain of Command. Indeed, it was expressly recognised by the High Court of Justice1 that the DSP is in exactly the same position, so far as independence is concerned, as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The DSP is subject to the general, albeit non-statutory, superintendence of Her Majesty’s Attorney General (AG). The DSP attends regular business meetings with the Attorney and Solicitor General (SG) during which the DSP reports on the progress of particularly high profile cases and other matters relevant to the operational effectiveness of the SPA.
1 R (Ali Zaki Mousa and others) v Secretary of State for Defence [2013] EWHC 1412 (Admin) at paragraphs 75 and 76.
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Commitment to Justice
The SPA’s jurisdiction is limited to cases against particular accused personnel that are referred to it by either the Service Police or the respective Commanding Officer of each accused person. However, only personnel who are subject to Service Law (either AFA 06 or one of the predecessor Service Discipline Acts2) at the time of the alleged offence may have their cases referred to SPA. It is important to understand that there are no geographical limits to the jurisdiction of Service Law. This means that wherever an offence is committed by a person subject to Service law, that person can be tried and punished by the Service Justice System (SJS). Further, subject to arrangements with host nations, cases can also be tried anywhere in the world. Subject to necessary variations to take account of the particular nature of the SJS the law applied throughout the system is that of England and Wales. Further, when deciding on whether or not to prosecute a case, the SPA applies the Full Code Test (FCT) (augmented at the Public Interest Stage by consideration of the Service Interest) as employed by the Crown Prosecution Service. There are two important consequences of these unique characteristics of the SJS. The first is that those who are subject to Service Law will, wherever and whenever their case is dealt with, appear before a tribunal that exercises its jurisdiction in the English language and in accordance with the general principles of evidence, procedure and, if appropriate, sentencing prevailing in the courts of England and Wales. Further, due to the portability of the SJS it is possible for cases to be heard in public in locations proximate to the alleged offending and thus host nation nationals are able to benefit from the principle of Open Justice that is a lynchpin of both the English Common Law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Specialisation
All the prosecutors serving in the SPA are qualified in accordance with the law and regulations governing practice in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. As stated the prosecutors of the SPA are both military and civilian personnel. The DSP’s Deputy (DDSP) is a serving army Brigadier. Many prosecuting officers have a considerable number of years of service outside the SPA in operational and advisory posts in the three services and in joint military headquarters. This gives them a deep understanding of both the nature of Service life and the planning and conduct of military operations. Service prosecutors’ specialist knowledge of the Law of Armed Conflict (LoAC) and International Criminal Law is of particular importance in cases where it is alleged that offences have been committed during the conduct of military operations. Such insight enables the prosecutors to bring to bear a developed understanding of the Service Interest, as well as the Public Interest, when deciding whether or not to direct a case for trial and whether or not to continue with a prosecution if new evidence comes to light or other relevant circumstances change. Naturally, it is necessary for Service prosecutors to have a sound and up-to-date understanding of the law as it is practiced before the civilian courts of England and Wales. Regrettably, trends in detected criminal behaviour that are evident in the civilian Criminal Justice System (CJS) (such as the possession of indecent images of children and historic sexual offending) also manifest themselves in the SJS. Because of this SPA and CPS prosecutors are increasingly training together and the DPP has been very generous in supporting SPA prosecutors in gaining experience on attachment to CPS specialist units.
2 Army Act 1955, Royal Air Force Act 1955 and the Naval Discipline Act 1957.
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SPA Relationship with the Attorney General’s OfficeThe relationship between the SPA and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is unique. The Attorney General (AG) does not supervise the SPA in the same way that he does the CPS. Instead, as the custodian of the Public Interest within England and Wales he has a general supervisory role of the DSP. The DSP requires AG’s leave to prosecute a person who was subject to Service jurisdiction at the time of the alleged offence, but is no longer so subject, and has not been for more than 6 months. In this case a brief is prepared for AG (or SG who can carry out any of AG’s tasks and takes a particular interest in the SPA). This is endorsed by DSP.
The relationship between SPA and AGO has been enhanced by regular business meetings between DSP and both AG and SG. SG attended the SPA Annual Conference Dinner. Legal officers from AGO have visited SPA and been briefed on the work that we do. This was followed up by a visit to Colchester Court Martial Centre (CMC) and Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) which was both informative and enlightening. The SPA’s business is very similar to the CPS in some ways and so different in others. The AGO recognises these differences and the relationship between the organisation is a strong and productive one. The Military Legal Assistant (MLA) spent an interesting day at AGO visiting various departments and taking part in some lunchtime training.
With regards to sentencing 2014 heralded the very first unduly lenient application by SPA. SPA prepared the application which was then endorsed by a Junior Treasury Counsel. Although the Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC) decided not to interfere with the sentence on this occasion, they conceded that the sentence originally passed was unduly lenient.
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SPA workloadThe data included in the following tables has been selected to display, in some detail, the SPA workload for the reporting year 2014/15 and additionally comparisons with the previous four years.
The data is drawn from the SPA’s internal records and may not match similar data held by other Service Justice System (SJS) parties. Such discrepancies probably result from differences in data definition and/or differences in the period over which the data is drawn.
Table 1. Referrals received by year 2010/11 to 2014/15
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0UK GE Total
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
915
673
598 641 716
1238
1022
847 954937
323 349
249 313
221
Table 2. Pre-charge Advice (PCA) received by year 2010/11 to 2014/15
300
250
200
150
100
50
0UK GE Total
Pre-charge Advice 2010/11 Pre-charge Advice 2011/12
Pre-charge Advice 2013/14
Pre-charge Advice 2014/15
Pre-charge Advice 2012/13
128162
220
206
174
59
187217
292
267
239
55 7261 65
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The first two tables, on the previous page, display the number of valid referrals received by the SPA by year, over the last five years, along with Pre charge Advice (PCA) requests received over the same period.
A number of points can be highlighted relating to the two tables.
Table 1. The number of Referrals received decreased between 2010/11 and 2012/13. However, the referral figures taken in isolation can be misleading. The SPA has noted that the more straightforward cases to manage such as AWOLs have shown significant reductions; in turn the numbers of more complex cases have continued to stay high. The following tables will assist in understanding this trend.
Table 2. Pre-charge Advice (PCA) was introduced under AFA 06 (which came into effect October 2009). The requests are received direct from the Service Police. SPA has noted that the requests are becoming increasingly complex and time and resource intensive, particularly in relation to historical cases.
Table 3. Complex Cases – Referrals
160
120
140
100
80
60
40
20
0Serious Sexual O�ences Indecent Images Drugs Serious Violence
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
6579
51
7870
1127
75
59 60 5872
17 16 2522
13 12 1511
Table 4. Complex Cases – Pre-charge Advice (PCA)
Pre-charge Advice - 2013/14
160
120
140
100
80
60
40
20
0Serious Sexual O�ences Indecent Images Drugs Serious Violence
3239
51
6359
915
813
2624
21
8
19
9 1310
36
26
13
Pre-charge Advice - 2010/11 Pre-charge Advice - 2011/12
Pre-charge Advice - 2014/15
Pre-charge Advice - 2012/13
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Table 3 and Table 4 display Referrals and PCA Complex Cases. The offences the SPA has designated as “Complex Cases” are Serious Sexual offences (including rape and attempted rape), indecent images, drug (or drug-related) cases and Serious Violence (including homicide, attempted homicide and GBH).
Although it is recognised that other offences can, from time to time, be complex for varying reasons, generally referrals encompassed within the indicated four offence groups will nearly always take up an inordinate amount of time and resources compared to other cases. It should also be pointed out that such cases require the attention of the more experienced SPA prosecutors.
Table 5 and Table 6 display Complex Cases against the total number of Referrals and PCA respectively.
The number of complex Referrals as a percentage of overall referrals in 2014/15 is 18.7%. This compares to 2010/11 where the percentage was 14.4%
The number of complex PCA as a percentage of overall PCA in 2014/15 is 44.4%. This compares to 2010/11 where the percentage was 34.2%
Table 5. Complex Cases compared to the total number of Referrals
1400
1000
1200
800
600
400
200
02010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
1238
178
1022
168
847
139
954
176
937
175
No. of Referrals No. of Complex Cases
Table 6. Complex requests compared to the total number of PCA
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
187
64
217
70
292
132
267
122
239
106
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
No. of Pre-charge Advice No. of complex Pre-charge Advice
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Table 7 displays the number of AWOLs received over the past five years. The reduction of over 180 goes some way to explain the reduction in number of referrals. It should be pointed out that AWOLs, as a case, are relatively straight-forward to prosecute. Generally they can be directed and brought to Court Martial very quickly.
Therefore although the number of referrals has reduced, primarily due to the reduction of AWOLs (although referrals for other “low level” offending have also reduced) the actual work load, due to complex work, has not decreased in parallel.
Table 8 clearly shows the reduction in AWOLs compared to overall numbers of referrals. In 2010/11 AWOLs represented 18.8% of referrals. By 2014/15 AWOLs only represented 7.8%.
Table 7. Absent Without Leave (AWOLs)
250
200
150
100
50
0UK GE Total
2010/11 2011/12
2013/14 2014/15
2012/13
206
142
93
60 67
27
233
164
110
74 73
2217
14 6
Table 8. Number of AWOLs compared to the total number of Referrals
1400
1000
1200
800
600
400
200
02010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
1238
233
1022
164
847
110
954
74
937
73
No. of Referrals No. of AWOLs
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The following tables, Table 9 and 10, display information in relation to numbers of Court Martial and Court Martial outcomes. As expected if there is a drop in Referrals, particularly AWOLs, then there will be a corresponding drop in the number of Court Martial.
Table 10. Case outcomes
600
400
500
300
200
100
0Court Martials “Guilty” Plea “Not Guilty” Plea
- convicted“Not Guilty” Plea
- acquitted
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
595
552
463
410485
456
430
343
279342
62 69 58 59 68 7753 62 72 75
Table 9. Numbers of Court Martial trials
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0No of referrals Court Martials SCCs SACs
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
1238
1022
847954
937
78 7557 43 4711 7 3 13 5
595552
463410 485
Although the majority of cases are heard at Court Martial, there are a small number held in the Service Civilian Court (SCC) and the Summary Appeal Court (SAC) (mainly in Germany)3.
With regard to SACs everyone who is dealt with summarily has an unfettered right to appeal to the SAC within 14 days. A person may appeal against either the finding and punishment, or the punishment only. The SAC can confirm or quash the finding, or substitute a finding. They can confirm the original punishment or substitute the punishment with one that is more severe than that which was previously awarded at the original Summary Hearing.
At the Service Civilian Court (SCC), the Judge Advocate (JA) sits alone, hearing cases against civilians who are, or where, subject to service discipline, involving the least serious offences, with limited powers of punishment. The SCC can sit anywhere in the world.
The majority of cases heard at Court Martial are “Guilty Pleas”. The contested–acquitted and convicted – have stayed relatively steady at figures between 120 and 140 over the past five years.
3 SCC – Service Civilian Court. Families of service personnel and civilians working for the MOD abroad are subject to Military discipline. Any offences trialled are heard in a SCC.
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Sgt Maj Kevin Murray, Service Police Liaison Officer (SPLO)
Ms Lyn Hearn, Business Support Manager (BSM), UK
The role of the SPLO is primarily to support the Authority in it’s daily business with all three Service Police agencies, as well as the Civilian Police and many other external organisations. They advise on elements of Policing protocol to Service Prosecutors, and on Prosecutorial protocol to the Service Police, to instil
a greater understanding between both bodies, in order to exercise and uphold the SJS. They are seasoned Police Officers with appropriate qualifications and a diverse
career profile, which affords the necessary skill set to best serve the Authority. They are required to be highly adept communicators, as they will be expected to frequently and confidently engage with high ranking Legal professionals and Military Officers alike. In addition, but less frequently, they will also advise non-Police units on the appropriate manner of acquisition and subsequent provision of evidence, suitable for presentation at Court Martial proceedings. They are also responsible for support to the Chief of Staff (COS), in maintaining the physical security of the SPA and its staff, identifying and combatting risks, where needed.
As the BSM for the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) my main priority is ensuring the quality of administrative support provided to both the legal officers and the HQ.
I deal on a daily basis with requests for information concerning ongoing case referrals from AFCLAA, the Service Police and
units. I provide, where possible, detailed information as to the general conduct of the case concerned.
I maintain and update both the SPA statistical case database and the CIMA
system with details of all new referrals and the ongoing actions for all cases being dealt with by the SPA both in the UK and Germany, including decisions taken on cases and the ultimate result of all Court Martials, Service Civilian Courts and Summary Appeals.
I create weekly, quarterly and yearly statistical data for the Chief of Staff (COS) and the Case Management Board. I also create and provide statistical data for all Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests received by the SPA Business and Finance Manager.
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Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC)The Court Martial Appeal Court (CMAC), physically, sits as part of the Court of Appeal on the Strand in London. It is the appeal Court for the Court Martial. It deals with appeals against sentence and appeals against conviction. Appeals from the Court Martial are, firstly, considered by a single CMAC Judge. That judge will either forward the appeal to the CMAC sitting as the full Court by granting leave to appeal, or reject the appeal. If the single Judge rejects the appeal then the Appellant has to decide whether to appeal to the full Court to renew the application for leave to appeal. If the full Court decides to grant leave to appeal, then the hearing could take place immediately, or be adjourned to a later date. The Appellant is not always legally represented at the CMAC. If an Appellant appears unrepresented then the SPA will not appear as the respondent.
CMAC proceedings (appeal hearings) in the High Court, are not shown within this report. The number of such hearings are relatively low, but they do absorb significant prosecutorial effort.
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Iraq Historical Allegations Prosecution Team (IHAPT)The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT), led by a retired senior civilian police detective and consisting of 145 employees made up of Royal Navy Police, civilian investigators and civil servants, was set up to review and investigate criminal allegations against UK Armed Forces personnel that are alleged to have occurred in Iraq during the period from 2003 to July 2009. There are two strands of investigation within IHAT; one focuses on allegations of unlawful killing and the other on allegations of mistreatment. The allegations of abuse and mistreatment involve, in the main, physical abuse during arrest, transportation and questioning. The complaints emanate from various sources and generally commence with an exchange of letters in accordance with the pre-action protocols and accompanied by a first witness statement.
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In order to assist IHAT, the SPA established a stand alone and bespoke Iraq Historic Allegations Prosecution Team. IHAPT is managed by a Royal Navy Captain who leads a team consisting of both experienced civilian and Service lawyers. The team has a number of unique legal issues to address, such as those of jurisdiction, the thresholds for war crimes, application of the CPS Full Code Test in ‘unique circumstances’, double jeopardy and immunity undertakings. Substantial emphasis is put on early engagement between lawyers and investigators, the use of Joint Case Review panels and Pre-investigation Assessments. As such regular discussions, case conferences and training days are held between IHAPT and IHAT.
The current SPA IHAPT case load comprises of 33 unlawful death cases involving 35 alleged deaths, and approximately 36 cases of mistreatment and abuse, involving
multiple complainants. Additionally IHAT have reached a stage with an additional 20 unlawful death cases and a further 71 cases of mistreatment where early engagement with and legal advice from IHAPT will soon be required.
Following a number of submissions from a British law firm and a European Human Rights Group on 13 May 14, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced her decision to conduct a preliminary examination into allegations of war crimes made against UK personnel in Iraq. The UK’s position is that through the work of the IHAT, the UK is already investigating these allegations and, where appropriate, will prosecute. IHAT and IHAPT have jointly been providing information to the UK Government laying out the legal position, status of the investigations and, where appropriate, commenting specifically on some of the submissions made.
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Advocacy Training and DevelopmentAs part of our ongoing evening/afternoon training programme we have had regular external speakers to the SPA. For example, Peter McCloskey spoke on the Srebrenica case and the DSP lectured on Command Responsibility. Barnaby Hone, of 1 Paper Buildings, delivered a Cross Examination workshop and Stephen Vullo QC gave a talk on defending sex cases at trial, with special reference to the Dave Lee Travis case. Recorder Keith Raynor gave a talk on the comparison between the prosecution of war crimes within a domestic jurisdiction and the prosecution of war crime offences before international criminal tribunals. Professor Kevin Heller from the School of Oriental and African Studies gave a talk on the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is highly relevant to the work of IHAPT and MOD at this current time. There was a Cyber Crime workshop at SPCB hosted by Maj Hamish Shepherd of the Royal Military Police (RMP).
Six legal officers comprising solicitor advocates at Major/Captain rank achieved Higher Rights in the BPP-run course and examination. The first ever joint SPA-CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) course was held at RAF Northolt, where eight SPA legal officers and six CPS lawyers successfully completed the course. In April 2015 the SPA in conjunction with the CPS will hold another RASSO course at RAF Northolt. Twelve delegates are to participate, six from the CPS and six from the SPA. The aim of the course is to develop those (POs) who will prosecute serious sexual offences and provide them with the necessary CV to do so. Two officers from the SPA ran a Domestic Violence prosecutions course at RAF Northolt.
ATAP (the SPA internal basic advocacy course) was run from 8–19 Sep 14 with advocacy training for eight legal officers ranging in rank from Lt Col to Captain with
two Managing Prosecutors (MPs) acting as observers. Another ATAP course is to be run in Oct 15 with another set of legal officers newly returned to SPA duties.
The SPA ran its Intermediate Advocacy course in Oct 14 (in which HHJ Korner and HHJ Leonard ran a mock trial for four officers at Captain and Major rank in order to improve advocacy skills beyond those that are trained on the ATAP course. Following the 2014 course, which was a great success, another Intermediate Advocacy course will be run in Jul 15 and HHJ Korner has kindly agreed to return over a weekend to provide her mentoring skills. She will be supported by Ian Morley QC (author of The Devil’s Advocate) and again a fresh batch of SPA legal officers will be put through their paces.
Four SPA legal officers attended the Keble College Advanced Advocacy Course in Aug 14 comprising two Colonels and two Lieutenant Colonels who will undertake the most serious casework that challenges the SPA. A further three senior SPA lawyers will attend this residential course at the University of Oxford in 2015.
The SPA in conjunction with the Law Faculty at Brunel University and its Drama Department ran a Mock Trial at Brunel University in Nov 14 (in which SPA officers, an experienced Major and a Lieutenant Colonel led the Prosecution and Defence teams of undergraduate lawyers). This Mock Trial was of a Sexual Assault case which saw HHJ Thorn sit as the trial Judge. Students from the Drama Department played the victim and witnesses to the crime and were examined in chief and then cross examined by the undergraduate lawyers. This was a mutually beneficial and collaborative exercise where SPA officers had the opportunity to practise their skills in the Faculty’s own purpose built mock courtroom. This is an experience that the SPA would like to turn into an annual event.
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Lawyers from the SPA continue to undertake secondments with the CPS. For the most part this is at a more junior level and involves acting on behalf of the CPS at Magistrates’ Courts. The SPA is immensely grateful to the CPS for offering this invaluable advocacy experience. As a result one junior officer undertook a mini-pupillage at Doughty Street Chambers. Recently a senior officer took part in a two week attachment to a CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Office as part of his professional development. In the spring of 2015 a senior officer from the SPA will be attached to the CPS to take part in a Crown Court Advocacy secondment which was approved again, very generously, by the office of the DPP, at the CPS.
In February 2015 the SPA hosted a training day for an invited audience which included advisory lawyers, Service Police, defence counsel, court staff and Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS) lawyers. The speakers were made up of subject matter experts from within the SPA who gave talks on a broad range of topics. In total 140 delegates attended the training day and the feedback received from those who attended was extremely positive.
The SPA intends to set up on a one off basis due to available funding a Diploma course in International Criminal Law for SPA officers. Two London universities have been approached to set out their proposals for such a course. The course would involve both distance learning and attendance on campus for workshops and would conclude with an examination. Successful students would subsequently receive an accreditation in International Criminal Law from the Law Faculty of the University which provides the Diploma course.
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Lt Col Harry Mynors, Prosecution Team Leader
Cdr Carolyn Kenyon, Prosecution Team Leader
As a Prosecution Team Leader, around 20% of my time is spent as an advocate in court, including attending preliminary hearings, sentencing hearings and contested trials. Some of the court work occurs over a live link from our offices but for contested trials and sentencings I usually have to travel to Court Centres
(CMCs) in Bulford, Catterick, Colchester and Portsmouth. Back in the office I do casework (predominantly domestic violence,
serious violence or sexual assault) and many of these cases demand extensive liaison with the Service Police and/or victims. I also supervise a team of four junior prosecutors and will scrutinise their work and advise them on complex legal issues and trial strategy on their cases (generally violence, public order, dishonesty and Service offences). In turn, I can draw on the expertise of the senior management team where required. Around this I fit in CPD, a bit of physical exercise, and participation in the varied social life of the Officers’ Mess, not forgetting home and family life.
Having read Law at Manchester University, in 1999 I joined the Royal Navy as a Logistics Officer. During the past 16 years I have undertaken a variety of appointments. As a Lieutenant I served at sea in both Royal Fleet Auxiliary DILIGENCE and HMS GLOUCESTER. Thereafter I was selected by the Royal Navy
to train as a barrister and was called to the Bar in 2005. For the next three years I was assigned to the Naval Prosecuting Authority to prosecute cases at Courts Martial. During this period I also completed an operational tour of duty as the deployed legal advisor to Coalition Task Force 158, whose primary mission was the protection of critical energy infrastructure in the Northern Arabian Gulf. I returned to sea in 2009 as the Logistics Officer in HMS LANCASTER, deploying to the Middle East to conduct maritime security operations. A shore-based assignment followed within the Navy Command Headquarters, during which I provided advice to ships and establishments on discipline, employment
and administrative law matters. Thereafter, building on my previous experience of maritime operations in the region, in 2012 I served as Legal Advisor to the Combined Maritime Forces, based in Bahrain. With dual responsibility for supporting national and multi-national operations, I advised on the conduct of regional counter piracy and maritime counter terrorism operations. On my return to the UK in February 2013 I joined the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) based at RAF Northolt.
I have now spent over two years with the SPA and have undertaken a variety of work, including prosecuting serious sexual offences. When I am not in Court I review cases referred to the SPA by the Service Police or by the Command (CO) with a view to determining whether or not the matter should be tried in the Court Martial. I also assist in reviewing the work of more junior lawyers within the organisation, and work closely with the Service Police to build cases for trial.
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Victims and WitnessesPutting Victims First
The SPA supports the wider government strategy to transform the criminal justice system by putting the victims of crime first, which includes consulting, listening, taking into account their views and needs, making their voice heard during the trial process and keeping them informed of decisions and outcomes. Since the establishment of the SPA we have endeavoured to offer and provide a high standard of support to victims, but there is always room for continued improvement and during this period we have conducted a complete review of SPA compliance with the Armed Forces Victims Code (JSP 839) (“the Code”) in light of the EU Victims Directive4.
The review has resulted in positive steps to improve governance and assurance to meet the needs of all alleged victims. Particular attention is paid to resolving rape and serious sexual offences, domestic
violence and abuse, serious violence, ill-treatment and bullying and harassment. We have established a more readily audible mechanism for ensuring SPA compliance with “the Code”, we have improved our systems for engagement with external agencies to ensure – as best we can – that victims in their care are properly looked after and communicated with and we have revised our documentary systems for recording actions under “the Code”. An overall assessment of the handling of victim issues is now routinely conducted at the conclusion of each case and lessons identified are followed up. These process improvements have been supported by zero cost enhancements to IT support.
Compliance with “the Code” (JSP 839) has been further enhanced by the formalisation of the SPA’s Victims Right to Review policy introduced in October 2014. Victims are
4 Directive 2012/29/EU.
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now routinely advised of their right to request a review of qualifying decisions5, and wherever possible reviews of decisions are taken within prescribed timescales. Since October 2014 a number of VRRs have been conducted with several being overturned. The policy is now more accessible to victims through publication on the internet.
We have continued to influence the requirement to tackle any cultural issues specific to the military environment that hinder support to victims or successful prosecution of offences through the Service Justice Board (SJB) and Service Justice Executive Group (SJEG) and the Service Police Working Group. We are also engaged with MOD-centre, Service Police, welfare services, the Military Court Service (MCS) and other stakeholders in considering the MOD’s response to published Ministry of Justice policy on commitment to victims6.
5 Decisions not to bring proceedings, to discontinue proceedings, to offer no evidence and decisions to let all charges lie on file. 6 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-commitment-to-victims-september-2014
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Domestic Violence and Abuse
Domestic Abuse Panel
The SPA have established a panel of suitably trained and experienced prosecutors to deal with cases of domestic abuse. Headed by a senior prosecutor with significant experience gained during previous service at the CPS, only panel members may prosecute cases of domestic abuse.
Training
All officers currently serving at the SPA have received specialist training in dealing with cases of domestic violence and abuse. This has promoted greater awareness of the scale of domestic abuse within society. Understanding of the psychology of victims and perpetrators has enhanced practical knowledge to build stronger cases for successful prosecutions. We continue to benefit from close links with the CPS, including exploiting training opportunities in association with CPS Direct.
Partnerships
The SPA has taken the lead in driving forward improvements in the multi-agency response to domestic abuse. We have delivered presentations to a variety of audiences from within the MOD, designed to promote greater awareness of how to tackle domestic abuse. The presentations also encouraged information sharing between agencies. Recognising the critical role of the Service Police in tackling domestic abuse in our jurisdiction, we continue to develop closer working arrangements and early liaison with them, also delivering training in handling domestic abuse cases. A protocol formalising processes for early engagement between the SPA and Service Police, including the relationship with Commanding Officers and their advisers, is in the later stages of development with a view to adoption in summer 2015.
While the prevention of domestic abuse in the Armed Forces is a matter for the principal personnel officers of the single Services, the experience and views of the SPA on the subject of domestic abuse are respected within the Armed Forces. We are represented on the Tri-Service Domestic Abuse Working Group and the Army Domestic Abuse Steering Group. In these and related forums we continue to influence the development of appropriate responses to domestic abuse in the Armed Forces.
Domestic violence and abuse is inconsistent with the values and standards of the Armed Forces, and unacceptable. In common with government initiatives, the Armed Forces has adopted a multi-agency approach to dealing with these issues, to which the SPA is a key contributor and enabler. We are committed to working with partner agencies to provide a swift and effective response to domestic incidents.
During this reporting period (2014/15) a number of changes and initiatives have been introduced in order to improve our overall performance in this area. The baseline for this change process is recognition that the civilian police, prosecuting agencies and courts have primacy in dealing with the criminal aspects of domestic abuse which occur in the United Kingdom. It is therefore primarily in cases arising overseas where the SPA becomes involved. This year has seen the development of a revised model for dealing with domestic abuse that falls within our jurisdiction.
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Director’s statement regarding his Strategic Direction and Management Plan 2015/16
“As Director, the keystone of my strategic direction for the Service Prosecuting Authority continues to be the preservation of its independence from the military Chain of Command, ministers and civil servants. All civilian and military personnel serving with the SPA, must ensure that our independence is protected.
Second, we must continue to improve the overall quality of the casework and advocacy of SPA prosecutors by the development and implementation of a linked prosecutors grading system and a professional development programme.
Third, in order to meet the requirements of further efficiencies in public spending, the SPA must develop (where appropriate) in co-operation with other elements of the Service Justice System, more cost effective working practices.
Fourth the SPA must have in place a robust but flexible plan for the closure of its office in Germany as the Army’s withdrawal from Germany is planned to be completed by the end of 2020.
Finally, the Service Prosecuting Authority is to share its expertise and contribute to the understanding of the UK Service Justice System by engaging with civil society and UK government departments, in addition to influential States and reputable international organisations.”
SPA Strategic Direction and Management Plan 2015/16
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The Director’s Strategic Direction and Plan is broken down into seven areas. Each has a number of targets and objectives which have been summarised for the Annual Report, as follows
1. Maintenance of Independence
• To request Service PPOs authorisation the attachment of independence statements to assignment orders.
• Review induction briefings to ensure that the nature and significance of independence is understood by all military and civilian personnel serving in SPA.
2. Continued Enrichment of Prosecutorial Competence
• Establish system for grading SPA prosecutors with a linked (and resourced) professional development and training programme.
• Ensure that Panels of Expertise operate to improve levels of performance in areas where case load (and opportunities to develop experience) are low.
• Ensure high level of prosecutor knowledge of Victim and Vulnerable Witness issues.
• Continue development of expertise in Rape and Serious Sexual Offences cases.
• Use of external expert speakers (both at the annual conference and during the remainder of the year) to raise awareness of current legal issues of relevance to SPA.
• Improvement of knowledge of International Criminal Law for prosecutors working on operational cases.
3. Enhanced Efficiency
• Review (with other elements of the SJS) feasibility of implementing Early Referral and Case Management across SJS.
• Improve protocol with CPS to ensure continued consistency of approach in cases of concurrent jurisdiction.
• Introduce new Management Performance Measures.
• Review and, if necessary, implement more useful case and prosecutor monitoring measures of effectiveness to track both delay and accuracy of the work undertaken by prosecutors’ inspections of files.
• Maximise opportunities to exchange information regarding operational offending by means of the Operational Offending Prosecution Procedures Working Group (OOPPWG).
• Recruit sufficient personnel to raise IHAPT to full complement of personnel.
• Op HERRICK cases: Assess likely SPA workload in order to allocate sufficient personnel to undertake arising tasks. Ensure that allocated personnel are adequately trained (in particular with respect to International Criminal Law) prior to undertaking work on such cases.
• Prepare for and support HMCPSI inspection.
• Implement final SDSR 2010 savings measures.
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4. Disestablishment of SPA(G)
• Determine, and initiate action to implement, drawdown of SPA(G) personnel.
• Decide upon closure of SPA(G) office and removal of equipment and support facilities.
• Establish procedures for SPA(UK) conduct of cases originating in Germany as and when SPA(G) is incapable of doing so due to drawdown of personnel.
5. Controlled Outreach
• Inspire confidence in and establish an effective working relationship with CPS Counter Terrorism and Special Crimes Division.
• Inspire confidence in and establish liaison links with CPS Direct and CPS regions where significant numbers of military personnel are; namely Devon, Wessex, Essex and Yorkshire.
• Develop enhanced working relationships with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, International Criminal Court, the Stabilisation Unit Civil society and Brunel University.
• Implement Media and Communications Policy.
6. Financial Control
• Continue to maintain a robust and justifiable Forecast of Outturn for 2015/16.
• SPA to remain within 5% of the respective controls for 2015/16.
• Comply with Departments Annual Budgeting Cycle for 2015/16.
7. Support to the SJS
• Provide support to the initial introduction of E-SJS (transfer of files electronically).
• Assist with the development of a central repository of SJS offence statistics.
• Support SJB and SJEG initiatives.
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Finance and Budgets
General
The Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) is a fully independent organisation. However, as a government funded organisation it receives its funding as part of the Defence Budget.
Whilst wholly independent of the Chain of Command and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in its prosecutorial role, the SPA is still required to abide by the financial rules, regulations and procedures laid down by both the Treasury and the MOD in the commitment of its financial resources. The Attorney General ensures the ability for the DSP to continue to fulfil his statutory function.
For financial purposes the Director Service Prosecutions (DSP), as the SPA Budget Holder, is accountable to the MOD for the way the SPA commits its funding. To assist him in this the SPA has, since establishment, had a Finance Manager whose role is to advise him on Treasury and Departmental financial regulations and policy and to advise on how the best use of the limited financial resources can be achieved.
Issues
Since 2012, when the responsibility transferred over from the individual Service Legal Branches, SPA funding has been the responsibility of the MOD Head Office. However due to the MOD Annual Budgeting Cycle the SPA has been unable to provide a full costing of its financial requirements for a number of years.
This has resulted in a number of financial challenges related to projects not originally envisaged as being part of the SPA’s remit in 2009; and therefore not included in the Annual Budgeting Cycle.
The inception and ongoing costs to support the Iraq Historic Allegations Prosecution Team (IHAPT) required a significant funding stream which could not be taken at risk from within the existing SPA budget. Additional funding over an initial 2½ year period was sought and obtained from MOD Centre taking IHAPT out to 2017. During the coming months SPA will seek to extend this funding line further to bring it in line with the funding of the MOD’s own Iraq Historic Allegations Team; the funding for which was recently extended out to 2019.
The SPA continues to make use of External Legal Counsel where the Authority does not have the expertise or resources required for particular cases in house. The Authority is not specifically funded for this and continues to take it at risk.
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Budget – Financial Year 2014/2015
Element of Spend 2014/15 Budget 2014/15 Spend Variance
(+/-)
Military Pay and Allowances £3,709,777 £3,713,688 +£3,911
Civilian Pay And Allowances £1,184,813 £1,443,687 +£258,874
Office Running Costs £135,617 £138,333 +£2,716
Training Costs £50,032 £35,624 -£14,408
External Legal Fees £96,003 £44,315 -£51,688
Travel and Subsistence £84,092 £106,810 +£22,718
Receipts £0 £0 £0
TOTAL £5,260,334 £5,482,457 £222,123
The budgetary figures represent the original amounts as laid out in the Annual Budgeting Cycle and do not reflect any In Year Enhancements such as that agreed for IHAPT. The spend data includes all expenditure including the additional IHAPT costs.
Budgets for future Financial Years (FY)
Notwithstanding any savings measures or enhancements passed to the SPA from the MOD the departmental financial systems show the following funding as part of Annual Budgeting Cycle 2015/16 as follows:
FY 2015/16 FY 2016/17 FY 2017/18 FY 2018/19
Amount (£M) 4.858 5.232 4.647 4.741
When taking these figures into account it should be borne in mind that they are likely to fluctuate over time. Additional savings measures directed from the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence, both as general savings options and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) will require implementation. Enhancements will also be sought in years three and four to cover the IHAPT.
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SPA Manning EstablishmentAs of 1 Apr 2015, the SPA’s Establishment stands at 67, plus an additional 4 prosecutors attached to the IHAPT7.
Of the Establishment of 67, 30 are civilian staff (including the Director), 6 of whom are based in Germany. A further 4 are located at each of the UK Court Martial Centres (CMCs); Colchester, Catterick, Bulford and Portsmouth.
The military establishment consists of 37 personnel of which 33 are prosecutors; 4 Royal Navy, 4 RAF and 25 Army. The remaining 4 military staff consist of 3 Service Police Liaison Officers (2 Army and 1 RN) plus the COS who is not a legal officer.
Under agreed MOD Defence savings measures (cuts to “manning” level), by 2016, SPA establishment will have reduced to 63; 34 military personnel (31 prosecutors) and 29 civilian staff.
7 Please note that 1 of the 5 IHAPT personnel is included within the SPA establishment (the RAF Wg Cdr).
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UK & GE Administration Structure
Chief of Sta�/HdBusiness Support Wing
UK
Bulford
Colchester
Catterick
APOsin UK
To DDSPand DSP
APOsHQ
BusinessManager
Trial Arranger
MediaManager
Legal Training Support
Net & Info
Manager
Northolt/ Portsmouth
Germany
APOsin GE
SPLO (RN)
SPLO (Army)
SPLO
AdminTeam 4
AdminTeam 5
AdminTeam 3
AdminTeam 2
AdminTeam 1
ManagingProsecutor
ManagingProsecutor
ManagingProsecutor
ManagingProsecutor
ManagingProsecutor
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
TeamClerk
Vacant
APO2
APO1Registry
Clerk
RegistryClerk
RegistryClerk
Vacant
RegistryClerk
Vacant
Business Support Manager
Business Support Manager
Vacant
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SPA Structure, Team Composition
Director
Managing Prosecutor Managing Prosecutor Managing Prosecutor
SO2
SO2
Team 1B
SO1
SO1
Team 1A SO2
SO1
SO3
SO3
Team 2A
SO1
Team 3A
SO1
Team 3B
SO1
Team 4A
SO1
SO1CPS 2Team 4B
SO3
SO3 SO2
SO1
SO3
SO3
SO2 SO3
SO3
Team 2D
SO2
SO1
SO2
SO1
SO3
Team 2B Team 2C
Team 2 Team 1 Team 3 Team 4 Team 5 - IHAPT
Managing ProsecutorManaging Prosecutor
CivilianLawyer
CivilianLawyer
COS
PA to DDSP Deputy Director
EA to DSP MLA
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GlossaryAFA 06 Armed Forces Act 2006 (came into effect 10/2009)
AFCLAA Armed Forces Criminal Legal Aid Authority
AG Attorney General
AGO Attorney General’s Office
APO Assistant to Prosecuting Officer
ATAP Advocacy Training and Assessment Programme
AWOL Absent Without Leave
BPP Border Patrol Police
BSM Business Support Wing
CJS Criminal Justice System
CMAC Court Martial Appeal Court
CMB Case Management Board
CMC Court Martial Centre
CO Commanding Officer
CoC Chain of Command
CoJ Court of Justice
COS Chief of Staff
CPD Career Progression and Development
CPS Crown Prosecution Service
DDSP Deputy Director Service Prosecutions
DL Deputy Lieutenant
DPP Director Public Prosecutions
DSP Director Service Prosecutions
EA Executive Assistant
ECHR European Court of Human Rights
ECHR European Convention on Human Rights
FCT Full Code Test
FOI Freedom of Information (request)
G / GE Germany
GBH Grievous Bodily Harm
HHJ His (/Her) Honour Judge
HMCPSI Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate
HQ Headquarters
ICC International Criminal Court
IHAPT Iraq Historic Allegations Prosecutions Team – SPA
IHAT Iraq Historic Allegations Team – InvestigationJA Judge Advocate
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JSP Joint Service Publication
LoAC Law of Armed Conflict
MCS Military Court Service
MOD Ministry of Defence
MLA Military Legal Assistant
MP Managing Prosecutor
OOPPWG Operational Offences Prosecution Procedures Working GroupPA Personal Assistant
PCA Pre-charge Advice
PPO Principal Personnel Officer
PQ Parliamentary Question
QC Queen’s Counsel RASSO Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (course)
RMP Royal Military Police
SAC Summary Appeal Court
SCC Service Civilian Court
SDA Service Discipline Acts
SDSR Strategic Defence and Security Review (MOD)SG Solicitor General
SJB Service Justice Board / a High Court
SJEG Service Justice Executive Group
SJS Service Justice System
SO1, SO2, SO3 Staff Officer 1; 2; 3. These military rankings are equivalent across the Royal Navy, British Army and RAF; SO1 being the highest ranking of the three.
SPA Service Prosecuting Authority
SPCB Service Police Crime Bureau (i.e. deal with cyber crime)
SPLO Service Police Liaison Officer
VRR Victim’s Right to Review
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Service Prosecuting Authority
RAF Northolt
West End Road
Ruislip
Middlesex
HA4 6NG
spa.independent.gov.uk