Two-year court delay for rape victims

RAPE victims are forced to wait more than two years to get their cases before the courts, according to a new report.

Families of murder victims fare only slightly better, having to wait a year and nine months for their case to begin.

Speaking at the launch of the study, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said the time delays were “not acceptable” and required changes within the gardaí and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The research, carried out by the National Crime Council (NCC), said it should take at most 12 months for murder cases to get to court and 12-and-a- half months for rape cases following arrest.

The report said between 2002 and 2004, it took:

*27 weeks between the arrest of a person for murder and the case being sent for trial.

*An additional 63 weeks for the actual trial to begin.

*50 weeks between the arrest of a person for rape and the case being sent for trial.

*An additional 68 weeks before the start of the trial.

The report said the differences in time between murder and rape cases in the initial phase of arrest and return for trial was due to differences in procedures. The researchers found, even given those differences, the time frame between arrest and return for trial should be around six months for both murder and rape.

The report makes recommendations to cut delays:nThe establishment of more sexual assault units around the country.

*Appointment of a senior garda and a nominated officer within the DPP’s office to ensure the recommended time frames are adhered to.

*Introduction of pre-trial hearings to make the court process more efficient.

*Sufficient numbers of judges with registrars and enough resources to hear all criminal trials.

*Storing of key information on computer systems.

*Increased funding for the Forensic Science Laboratory.

The report found the longest delay was between a trial date being set and the trial actually starting, with some cases experiencing significant delays.

Padraic White, chairman of the NCC, acknowledged there had been improvements in the courts system since the research had been done, with waiting times down to around eight months.

Mr McDowell said he was meeting the High Court president to further reduce the court waiting times to as low as three months and that he was in talks with the Garda Commissioner to appoint senior administrative civilian staff to aid in the production of files and Books of Evidence.

A Courts Service spokes-man said waiting times were as low as four or five months. Four more judges had been appointed to hear such cases, new courthouses had become available and judges were sitting outside traditional court times to clear backlogs.