NO2ID

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2 ... he-victims

Infringing your rights? Tell that to the victims
Giles Fraser

by Giles Fraser

Posted: 26 Jul 2012 @ 11:20

TWO women a week in this country are killed by a former partner.

The British Crime Survey reports that 1.2 million women experience domestic abuse. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been making efforts to bring offenders to justice, but it is still the case that, even with cases charged by prosecutors, the conviction rate for rape cases is only 62 per cent, while only six per cent of reported allegations of rape end in conviction. And most incidents of domestic abuse and rape are not even reported to the police.

The chief executive of Refuge, Sandra Horley, describes it as "a very big problem". The Director of Public Prosecutions at the CPS, Keir Starmer, agrees: "I don't quarrel with Sandra's analysis about the nature and scope of the problem."

This is why I think it is time to revisit the question of a universal DNA database. At present, DNA details are taken and kept by the police after a person has been arrested. This database has proved extremely helpful to the police in the solving of crimes, and especially violent crime.

...

personally I think the church should stick to matters of theology and not try to meddle in politics and things they know nothing about.

however they always have and they always will

Giles Fraser's position is (presumably) based on the notion that putting more people's DNA on the national database will lead to more crimes being solved. However, this isn't true. See: http://www.genewatch.org/sub-539478


The immense amount of money necessary to implement Mr Fraser's idea would be much better spent on other measures to protect vulnerable women.

What happened to the old "rape has a 6% conviction rate" conflation of trial verdicts and cases brought to trial. Or have we cottoned on to that one.

62% guilty verdicts is par for the course for jury trials, if anything higher than the overall rate.

And why all the emphasis on "conviction rates", is that how the "success" of the criminal justice system is judged? Doesn't matter if the accused are innocent, just as long as you get a conviction

Not the prettiest of sights, the Church getting into bed with Harriet Harperson

Wonder what the "conviction rate" for bicycle theft is

"Some on the Right resist this move" coming from someone to the Right of Ghengis Khan

Correction: Infringing your rights? Tell that to the poor sod doing a life sentence for a crime they didn't commit!