Costs of dropped cases

Boris Johnson (Mayor of London): Thank you, Tony. The estimate for the cost of the dropped cases is about £3.1 million. It is ludicrous that cases are dropped. It is not 16 to 18%. We think, on average, it is about 10% of cases dropped. That is still too many and this is generally because of difficulties in getting witnesses to testify or difficulty with witnesses. I am told that is the single biggest reason. We have just had a meeting of the London Crime Reduction Board at which this problem came up and we are working with the CPS (Crime Prosecution Service) and with the Ministry of Justice to make sure there is proper co ordination and, where possible, every case is brought to court.

Tony Arbour (AM): It seems to me, Mr Mayor, that we do not actually know what the causes are of these dropped cases. You say it is a matter of witnesses who fail to turn up. I can tell you, over many years' experience sitting on these matters, frequently evidence does not turn up, frequently police do not turn up. The CPS, for some reason or another, withdraws the matter at the door. I think it would be useful for us to know precisely why these cases are dropped, why a higher percentage of cases, and indeed I have the figures before me which gives the figures for last year, which does say the number of ineffective trials in London was, in fact, 16% and that is in the Crown Court. In the Magistrates' Courts, it was 18%. £3.6 million seems to me to be a remarkably low figure.

In Scotland, however, they have actually addressed the causes of dropped cases and the failure of witnesses to turn up is indeed not the largest. There are a whole stack of figures which they give. Given that one of the most important functions of policing is after you have caught criminals, that criminals should be brought to trial and effectively punished. I think that is something which the public expect and the victims of crime expect. Will you please lean on your colleague at MOPAC to actually see why trials fail to proceed and once we know the reason, address that matter? I would also say, as I said right at the very beginning, to suggest it is only costing £3.6 million --

Boris Johnson (Mayor of London): £3.1 million I think I said.

Tony Arbour (AM): OK. That makes an even more ludicrous figure because, of course, that actual cost does not take into account time. I understand every hour in court in general, as far as a case is prepared, is something like eight times that figure. I suspect the figure you have been given does not take into account opportunity costs. We are talking, at a time now, about a great deal of wasted money and policing which should, we say -- this is an area which perhaps you would like to look at. Will you look at it?

Boris Johnson (Mayor of London): Thanks, Tony. Yes, the London Crime Reduction Board is looking at this area. The CPS in London has said they will now aim to be the number one improver in the whole of the country in reducing unsuccessful prosecutions. They are looking at a target in reduction of dropped cases or cracked cases, as they are sometimes called, and I will be very happy to keep you in the loop about what evidence we obtain about the causes for these discontinued prosecutions.

As you rightly say, it is not just to do with witnesses. There are all sorts of reasons why they fail. Insofar as we can crack down on poor co-ordination, poor communication, loss of evidence and all that kind of thing, I am confident we will be able to make improvements through greater use of digital technology. It should be possible with modern communications really to start to iron out a lot of these problems.

Tony Arbour (AM): Thanks very much, thank you, Chairman.