Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: Part 2

The Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, chaired by Sir Brian Leveson, has just published the concluding Part 2 of the Review. Part 1 of the Review was published last July. The Review was commissioned by the government because of the backlogs that have developed in the criminal justice system. Part 2 makes 135 wide-ranging recommendations to reform the criminal court system. 

It discusses expert evidence, partciularly from pages 534 to 541, and makes a range of recommendations including recommending:

• that courts should make more frequent use of their power to direct a discussion between experts. This continues to be regarded as good practice, wherever possible. This is restated from a 2015 Report,

• that the Judicial College keeps under review training available for judges in the Crown Court and for District Judges on the use of expert scientific evidence. The Review recommends the Forensic Science Regulator ('FSR') and the Police undertake a consultation to ensure this training is fit for purpose, 

• that the police and the Crown Prosecution Service invest in digital forensics and recruit more digital forensic experts,

• that the government take steps to record data on the prevalance of sythetic evidence in the criminal courts, including the extent to which deepfakes have an impact on court proceedings,

• greater collaboration between the Forensic Science Regulator, Forensic Science Laboratory, Home Office, CPS and HMCTS to understand the impact of complaince with the FSR Code on court proceedings.