This week in Parliament Graham took the
opportunity to bring Nottingham’s pioneering work on domestic
violence to the national government’s attention. In the House of Commons he asked
Vera Baird MP, the Solicitor General, about the success rate of
prosecutions in domestic violence cases – you can read her
responses below.
Graham
Allen (Nottingham
North, Labour)
What progress the Crown
Prosecution Service has made in increasing the proportion of
successful prosecutions in domestic violence cases.
Vera
Baird (Redcar,
Labour)
The proportion of
successful prosecutions by the CPS in domestic violence cases has gone up
from 55 per cent. In March 2005 to over 72 per cent. in June 2008,
and the number of cases has gone up from about 35,000 to 63,000
over the same period.
Graham
Allen (Nottingham
North, Labour)
Will the
Solicitor-General congratulate the CPS in Nottingham on working
very closely with the crime and drugs partnership in promoting a
scheme whereby the young people who witness domestic violence are treated as quickly
as possible so that the trauma that they experience does not
ultimately turn them into people who perpetuate domestic violence? This is often an
inter-generational issue. Will the Attorney-General ensure that the
CPS in Nottingham continues its excellent work to break that
inter-generational cycle so that we do not have another generation
of abusers and people perpetrating domestic violence coming along in future
years?
Vera
Baird (Redcar,
Labour)
I assure my hon. Friend
that not only my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General
but I will ensure that Nottingham CPS carries on the very good work
that it is doing. In general, the CPS now has a very good model of
community engagement. It is aware that, in order to get complaints
that it can prosecute and to ensure that the effects that my hon.
Friend describes can be tackled, it needs to work closely with the
non-statutory sector. I read with great interest his recent piece
of work on this; it is a very impressive piece in which he makes
the point that he just made.
Graham in Parliament
To watch a
video of these questions and answers click on the link below and
press “Play” in the box in the bottom right-hand corner.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2008-10-09a.392.6&s=speaker%3A10008#g392.7
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