Managing a huge increase in the number of trial dates for murder and rape cases since the appointment of extra judges is a key challenge facing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), according to her annual report for last year.
The report also reveals a continuing increase in the number of appeals taken by the DPP against sentences on grounds of undue leniency. Of 38 such appeals determined last year, 32 were successful. The previous year, the DPP succeeded in 31 of 38 undue leniency appeals.
Among the DPP’s undue leniency appeals yet to be heard is one against a suspended sentence imposed by Judge Tom O’Donnell at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court last June on Cathal Crotty for a violent assault on Natasha O’Brien in Limerick city on May 29th, 2022. Crotty (22), of Parkrose Heights, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, has since been dismissed from the Defence Forces.
Figures in the DPP’s annual report, published on Wednesday, highlight increased activity, due to additional judicial appointments, in the Central Criminal Court (CCC), which deals predominantly with rape and murder offences. The report said there was a “dramatic” 66 per cent increase over the past five years in the number of CCC cases being heard in venues outside Dublin.
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A total of 230 CCC trials were resolved last year and 517 CCC cases were listed outside Dublin, a 407 per cent increase on the 2019 figure.
The report also outlined that €4.95m was recovered from proceeds of crime last year and returned to public funds.
In her foreword, DPP Catherine Pierse said two key challenges were “very much to the fore” during the year and will require “sustained attention”.
She said the first is to ensure delays in the criminal justice system are minimised and the prosecution service can respond to the “sharp increase” in court activity. Because the DPP’s office is Dublin-based, the increase in CCC trials outside Dublin required significant additional effort and commitment by all involved, including her staff and prosecuting barristers.
The director also noted a “significant” increase in Circuit Court activity countrywide over the past five years.
Ms Pierse said the second challenge involves dealing with an ever-increasing volume of digital data in almost all categories of cases. The data, including from phones, social media apps and CCTV, is gathered at the investigative stage and submitted to the DPP’s office for review.
“The evolution of digital data is such that it is becoming progressively more difficult to balance the legal obligation to identify and disclose relevant or potentially relevant information with the duty to protect privacy.”
According to the report, 17,603 prosecution files were received last year, of which 11,133 involved serious offences. Prosecutions were directed in 65 per cent of cases, the bulk of which have yet to be heard. The main reasons for directions not to prosecute were insufficient evidence and withdrawal of complaints.
Among 228 cases prosecuted on indictment in the Central Criminal Court in 2022, 175 alleged rape and 29 involved alleged murder or attempted murder. A total of 57 cases resulted in convictions, seven involved convictions on a lesser charge, and six involved acquittals, five by juries and one by direction of a judge. Six were disposed of by other means and 152 remained for hearing.
Of the 55 rape cases finalised in 2022, 44 resulted in convictions, including five convictions of a lesser charge. Five were acquitted by jury and one by the trial judge and five were disposed of by other means.
Of 223 requests for reviews of the DPP’s decision not to prosecute certain cases, 85 related to sexual offences. The DPP’s decision was upheld in 198 reviews.
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