More victims of rape will be spared the stress of giving evidence during a trial after justice bosses announced courts across Greater Manchester will be allowed to admit pre-recorded evidence.
The so-called section 28 measure is already being used in parts of England but it was only introduced in Greater Manchester today (Wednesday), with Manchester's two crown courts as well as the crown court in Bolton among ten venues joining the scheme.
It allows alleged victims and witnesses of crimes such as rape and modern slavery to have their cross-examination video-recorded in court and played later during trial proper in front of a jury. It means evidence is heard earlier while events are fresher and alleged victims avoid the stress of giving evidence in the live trial.
READ MORE: Mum's heartache after 'wonderful' baby boy dies and says 'mistakes were made'
Evidence in chief and cross-examination will happen away from the trial proper. Both the defence and prosecution lawyers will be present in court during the pre-recording as will the judge and the defendant.
From today, the measure will be available immediately at ten more crown courts, nine in the north west (Bolton, Burnley, Preston, Carlisle, Lancaster, Warrington, Chester, Manchester Crown Square and Manchester Minshull Street) and also Swindon Crown Court.
The measure can only be permitted after a successful application to a judge and it now means it is available at 47 crown courts in England and Wales, more than half of all crown courts. The remainder will follow in September.
More than 2,500 witnesses have already given evidence in this way and the notoriously low rape conviction rate has risen, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Victoria Atkins MP, Minister for Tackling Violence against Women and Girls, said: "We are overhauling the justice system’s response to rape and this measure is key - minimising the stress and trauma faced by victims so they can provide the best possible evidence.
"It adds to the many other steps we are taking, such as recruiting more independent sexual violence advisors, delivering a new Victims’ Bill and improving collaboration between police and prosecutors. While there is still much more to do, we are starting to see the results of these efforts with rape convictions increasing by 15 percent over the last quarter, and by more than a quarter since before the pandemic.”
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
Struggling mum who had to ask Aldi cashier to stop scanning items left dumbstruck
Jilted mum sent 'humiliating' email to love rival lawyer with false claims of lewd videos and drugs
Tributes paid to 'hero' dad who died hours after ‘crying and pouring his heart out’ out to family
Woman, 21, given terrifying diagnosis after visiting GP with blurred vision
