Thread by @JolyonMaugham

So Priti Patel has announced an Inquiry following the tragic murder of Sarah Everard. THREAD

It won't initially be a statutory inquiry - apparently for reasons of urgency - but can be converted into one. I don't find that rationale that persuasive but what you call it is less important than who Chairs it and what its powers and terms of reference are.

The Chair will be confirmed in due course. So will the terms of reference although we have something of a steer...

The indication as to the terms of reference are profundly discouraging.

First, Wayne Couzens isn't the issue. He is a symptom of the issue. He is not even the only man charged with rape in his unit: so too is PC David Carrick.

This focus on Wayne Couzens is at best inclined to - and at worst designed to - sidestep the real purpose of an inquiry.

That purpose is to bring into the public domain the cultural problems underlying how the criminal justice system deals with violence against women and girls.

Unless those broader cultural problems are brought into the public domain and addressed women and girls are likely, understandably, to remain disinclined to report rape and other offences of violence to the police.

(I find it awful, speaking as a QC, to have to say that I doubt I would encourage a friend or colleague or family member who had been raped to report it to the police. If I can't have that confidence, I can only imagine how others who sit further from the establishment feel.)

Second, the conduct of the police towards victims of violence against women and girls is conditioned by the criminal justice system. If it is, as it is, vanishingly unlikely a rapist will be convicted you put (the majority of) decent police officers in a difficult position.

What do you say to a woman who comes to you and tells you she has been raped by someone she has chosen to have sex with in the past? You might well understand that she has not given consent, been raped, but what can you tell her about what the CPS will say or a jury will find?

Scotland is trying to grasp this nettle by trialling trials for rape without a jury. Lawyers in England find this an outrageous affront but other countries already do it. It deserves proper consideration.
news.sky.com/story/rape-vic…

However, what Priti Patel has announced goes nowhere near any of these issues - and without it I (for one) find it difficult to imagine we will see real change.

The Press Release also announces this - I should say for the sake of completeness - but (1) why should it not form part of the Inquiry and (2) why the focus on "maintain[ing] public confidence in policing" rather than deterring rape and violence against women and girls?

It would be a (still further) tragedy if this opportunity for real improvement were lost. We must hope that the Home Secretary and Prime Minister reflect on what they have announced and improve their promise to all those who care about violence against women and girls.