CCRC is reviewing 160 IPP cases

Dame Vera Baird, Chair of the miscarriages of justice watchdog, speaks exclusively to Inside Time

It is just over a year since Dame Vera Baird took over as Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), and a year since I first interviewed her for Inside Time. Before she arrived the reputation of the organisation was negative. It was heavily criticised, including by the Commons Justice Committee. Over the past 12 months, the CCRC’s reputation has risen, and it was good to hear that Dame Vera’s tenure has been extended by another year. I often see her at meetings where she talks openly about her views on injustices within the system.

I asked her what she felt had been her most positive impact. “Perhaps that the caseworkers now realise that their role is key,” she said. “They now support the approach I want. I do casework myself, which encourages them.”

I mentioned Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). “We currently have over 160 IPP cases under review and have seen many successful referrals to the Court of Appeal,” she replied. “I believe that Court now recognises it is wrong. However, we cannot solve IPP one person at a time. There needs to be resentencing of all, or the Howard League approach of giving a fixed release date.”

I asked about Joint Enterprise. “We prioritise this too, and sent a Manchester case to the Court, but it awaits a hearing date.” The campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA) say this landmark case will be heard next year.

Dame Vera said the CCRC is are prioritising victims of grooming gangs who, because of that, committed crimes. “We had one case overturned and will now submit others. This is very important to me,” she said. Dame Vera was previously the Victims Commissioner.

I said the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (CPSI) review of the CCRC she had requested had been criticised for being too cosy. “Not at all,” she insisted. “They called for changes. We accepted them all. Our systems created unnecessary duplication, but they found the 60 cases they studied were done properly. 

“We have a new Chief Executive, Tracey Calleia, and we spoke with caseworkers to get the changes needed to improve quality control.” (Ms Calleia is an experienced lawyer who also worked within the court service in the Midlands.)

“We are criticised for employing former police officers because people think they might be biased, but they are committed to what we do. Police officers can be excellent investigators.”

I suggested that the CCRC leaves complex, controversial cases on the shelf for years. “Complex cases take longer as we have to get full details,” Dame Vera said. “We need to get it right before we refer them on, but we give them all our full attention. Controversy is irrelevant.”

I mentioned the application process, saying the form is simple and clear, but convicted people often focus on something that annoyed them, such as someone giving evidence they felt was false, instead of key issues. Could more help be given? 

“That happens, but when an application is submitted our investigators may pause it, then go to the applicant requesting specific information. When I do casework, I first study the Court of Appeal reasons, to see the key issues.”

Dame Vera expressed concern at the shortage of legal aid and lack of rights for those who plead guilty in Magistrates Courts. She said that many who apply to the CCRC have never gone to the Court of Appeal, a condition of application, and some wrongly think they had appealed. “I am looking at this issue now.” 

There are, she said, applicants who feel their barristers let them down – “People judge the quality of their barrister by the result, regardless of the strength of the case. Win, the barrister is wonderful. Lose, the barrister is to blame.”

She smiled and concluded: “That is also the way people judge the CCRC.”

Lack of legal aid risks injustice, say MPs

Declining availability of legal aid is forcing more people to represent themselves in court, creating an “unacceptably high risk of miscarriages of justice”, according to a report from the House of Commons Justice Committee. The MPs call on the Government to address the crisis, claiming that without urgent reform “legal aid will continue to decline as a practical route to justice”.

The means-tested threshold for criminal legal aid in the magistrates’ court is “shockingly low” and has not been uprated since 2009, the report found. It said it was a “clear denial of justice” that someone earning the national minimum wage may be ineligible.

Last month’s report finds that the full scale of rising self-representation “is not properly understood because the Government does not publish reliable data”. Estimates suggest it could be as high as 50 per cent, creating a risk of miscarriages of justice. The report also warns that the criminal duty solicitor scheme is in a “dire state”.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter, Chair of the Committee, said the report “lays bare stark evidence that too many individuals who need legal advice and representation are simply unable to obtain it”.