Alison Saunders
Director of Public Prosecutions
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
2014 has been an incredibly busy and challenging year. I have visited every Crown Prosecution Service area twice, in order to get to know the staff and the different challenges the organisation faces – and they do vary as you can imagine between London and Cornwall. One of the main challenges has been addressing the falling number of rape cases we identified last year – that has been reversed and we are now seeing more cases which is good, but which of course brings its own challenges for us and others in the criminal justice system. That is why we published a national rape action plan – but to me this is just the beginning of a major, long-term project to address the issues which can prevent rape cases from successfully progressing through to conviction, from the first report all the way through to the deliberations of the jury at the end of a trial. I am proud that so many victims previously denied justice are finally seeing justice done but I think debate around the myths and stereotypes which surround rape will continue for many years to come.
What are your department’s top priorities in the last months before the general election?
Our priorities are probably less affected by the general election than many other departments and so my focus is on improving the experience of criminal justice for victims and others who come into contact with it. This is what underpins everything we do – from improving case handling, to providing victims with the right level of contact and explanation of our decision-making, to ensuring their experience at court is as comfortable as we can make it. I have commissioned a survey of 10,000 victims and witnesses to find out about their experience of the CPS. This will allow us to understand what victim and witnesses think and what we can do to improve the service we provide. It will be invaluable in helping us to get better.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
Well I’ll be wearing my Christmas jumper on December 12 – along with lots of colleagues, I suspect – to support Save the Children! My favourite Christmas treat is having all my family at home, but I do feel for the many CPS Direct staff who will be manning the phones to give charging decision to the police 24 hours a day throughout the holidays. As you can imagine, Christmas and New Year can be particularly busy.