State Budget 2024: Overworked State prosecution office to get $3.1M boost and new team to tackle case backlog

WA’s public prosecution office will receive a $3.1 million boost and 10 new full-time positions in Thursday’s State Budget to tackle a backlog of court listings but advocates warn the cash injection doesn’t go far enough. The new positions will expand the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution’s Trial Resolution Team, which uses active plea negotiation to reach early resolutions. State prosecutors have dealt with a logjam of cases across the past seven years — prompted by the increasing length and complexity of trials, playing catch up on COVID-postponed matters, and high-profile convictions such as Claremont killer Bradley Edwards. Attorney General John Quigley said the measures would lift capacity to prosecute serious criminal offences in WA. Prominent human rights and criminal lawyer Rabia Siddique said it didn’t go far enough, particularly, in addressing growing issues in the prosecution of gender-based violence cases. Ms Siddique, who is a domestic violence survivor and prevention advocate, has been campaigning for 18 months to overhaul the system to ensure victims are represented throughout the justice process by experienced lawyers rather than the current status quo of “non-legally qualified” cops. To address the “inequality of arms”, she has lobbied both the Victims of Crime and Police Commission, as well as the Minister for Women’s Interests, Police Minister and WA Attorney-General. Only half of the serious sexual assault cases brought before WA juries end with a conviction — and just a third of those who are found guilty are sent to jail. Despite WA Police recording almost 22,000 sexual-related offences in the past three years — less than 730 cases or 3.3 per cent proceeded to a trial in the District Court. Just 266 or 1.2 per cent of those cases ended in jail time. Ms Siddique labelled the current system “broken and failing victims of sexual and domestic violence” whose legal representation was frequently “outmanoeuvred, outqualified, and outgunned” by experienced defence teams. “I believe that has had a huge impact on the outcome of many of those prosecutions and many of those cases as well as the personal impact on victims,” she said. A lawyer for three decades across several jurisdictions, Ms Siddique said she has seen well-resourced ODDPs across Europe, in the UK, Canada, countries in Africa, and New Zealand. “Australia is one of the only jurisdictions in the world where this occurs — having this complete inequality of arms,” she said. “What is needed is a reallocation as well as additional resources to fund legal positions in the ODPP to prosecute these gender-based assault offences in the Magistrates Court. “This additional funding is not being directed in this way.” She said police prosecutors still had a place in the system, just not in such matters. Mr Quigley said several initiatives were in place or soon-to-be introduced to support victims. In July, a forensic service trial was launched to ensure the best evidence is presented in FDV cases. WA Police also have a new graduate program to boost to police prosecutors’ legal qualifications. All sexual violence offences in WA, except indecent assault, are indictable only and are prosecuted in the superior Court by the ODPP not a police prosecutor. While State prosecutors cover committal and sentencing proceedings in the Magistrates Court, the ODPP does not prosecute trials. In February, The West Australian exposed the crisis in the delay-plagued family court system with 44 per cent of WA family matters facing a five-year time to trial wait. If you or someone you know needs help, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or Sexual Assault Counselling Australia on 1800 211 028, the WA Sexual Assault Resource Centre on 6458 1828 or 1800 199 888 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.