BSQ Client Briefing – Delays in Indecent Images Investigations

BSQ’s private crime department presently represents a large number of professional individuals in ongoing police indecent images investigations.

Delay is a major concern in these cases. After their initial arrest and questioning, we are finding that clients are released under investigation (“RUI’d”) – see our BSQ briefing on RUI cases – for periods typically ranging between six months to a year or longer. This is usually because of the time it takes to complete the full forensic examination of their digital devices by police forensic laboratories.

Official research confirms just how severe these delays are. A 2015 report following a Criminal Justice Joint Inspection, found that suspects in indecent images cases were typically left on bail for 12 months before a case was ready for a CPS charging decision. Even after this, the report noted a further wait for the CPS to produce a charging advice.

Since 2015 the situation has got much worse. Forensic labs are inundated with police requests for phones and digital devices to be examined in cases of serious and organised crime. Indecent images cases often go to the bottom of the queue.

Funding problems lay at the heart of the problem. But there are also other contributing factors. One main cause is the fallout from the Government’s decision in 2012 to abolish the state-owned forensic science service. Consequently, there are widespread regional differences in the way that different police forces conduct forensic examinations. Some forces conduct forensics work through in-house facilities. Other sub-contract to external providers. In one police force a forensic exam can take six months – in another – as in a recent case in Northants handled by BSQ – the delay can be up to two years.

There is also a widespread divergence between police forces in the way that the examinations are conducted. Many forces allow charging decisions to be made without a full forensic analysis. Instead they rely on an (often unqualified) police officer comparing any images/videos found against the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID).

There is an obvious incentive for the police to rely on a simple CAID analysis. It saves time, money and resources. However, in BSQ’s opinion a CAID analysis is generally inadequate. It will not reveal the history of a person’s computer usage. Without this information we cannot properly advise our clients. At BSQ we will always ask the police to carry out a full forensic examination pre-charge.

In any criminal investigation or prosecution the authorities are under a duty to act expeditiously. BSQ’s view is that the delays that now beset these investigations – and are now commonplace in other types of cases – threaten to bring our criminal justice system into disrepute. It is high time the Government took urgent steps to remedy this problem.

You can read more about our expertise in defending individuals accused of sexual crimes here.

If you require advice or assistance in relation to an indecent images allegation please contact our London offices for a confidential consultation.