New review scheme to be rolled out across CPS Cymru-Wales following successful pilot

SURVIVORS of rape and serious sexual assault in Wales will soon have stronger rights to challenge decisions to drop their cases, as the UK Government expands a new review scheme aimed at rebuilding trust in the justice system.

The move was announced by the Solicitor General, Ellie Reeves, who confirmed the Victims’ Right to Review scheme will be extended to further Crown Prosecution Service areas — including Crown Prosecution Service Cymru-Wales from April.

The change means that when prosecutors decide there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction in rape or serious sexual offence cases, victims will be able to request that the decision is reconsidered by a different prosecutor before proceedings are formally halted.

Currently, while victims can ask for a review, it cannot alter the final outcome. The new process allows cases to continue if fresh assessment finds sufficient evidence.

The expansion follows what ministers described as “positive feedback” from an earlier pilot scheme.

The roll-out will begin with CPS North West in January, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside in February, before reaching Wales in the spring.

Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli and a long-standing campaigner on violence against women and girls, welcomed the announcement.

She said: “Violence against women and girls is rightly being treated as a national emergency. A key part of the government’s strategy is ensuring victims in Llanelli and elsewhere are given better support to help rebuild trust in the criminal justice system.

“Keeping women and girls safe needs action as well as words. This change puts more power into the hands of victims when they bravely come forward.”

Reeves said rape and sexual assault offences cause “long-lasting physical and emotional trauma” and stressed that survivors “deserve confidence that their voices have truly been heard”.

She added: “This government is committed to halving violence against women and girls. Expanding the Victims’ Right to Review will increase routes to justice and ensure victims are treated with fairness and dignity.”

Siobhan Blake, the national CPS lead for rape and serious sexual offences, said survivors often feel distressed at the prospect of their abuser never facing justice.

She said: “Our specialist prosecutors usually get it right first time, but when we don’t — and a case that could have continued is stopped — an apology alone can never feel like justice.

“Victims who have taken part so far have told us that simply having this option makes a positive difference.”

The measures form part of the UK Government’s wider Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, which aims to halve such offences over the next decade through prevention, tougher enforcement and improved victim support.

Under the new system in Wales, cases that are initially discontinued could be revived if an independent prosecutor concludes there is sufficient evidence to proceed.

Ministers say the aim is to give survivors greater confidence that every possible avenue to justice has been explored.

Magistrates decline jurisdiction over serious allegations

A JOHNSTON man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court accused of threatening a male with a knife and carrying out a violent assault.

Kenneth Mathias, 42, of Old School Lane, Johnston, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates.

“The parties were socialising, but comments were made and one of the complainants slapped the defendant gently to the face,” Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan said.

“Kenneth Mathias then carried out a sustained attack, punching the complainant nine or ten times to the head.”

The court heard that when another male attempted to intervene, Mathias placed him in a chokehold, causing breathing difficulties.

“A knife was then drawn and held close to the complainant’s neck,” Ms Vaughan added.

Mathias, represented by solicitor Alaw Harries, denied wrongdoing and claimed he had acted in self-defence.

He faces multiple charges including assault, criminal damage, theft, intentional strangulation, threatening with an offensive weapon, harassment causing fear of violence, and intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and, following an application by the Crown, Mathias was remanded in custody. He will next appear at Swansea Crown Court on March 6.

Police figures show recorded thefts falling locally, while shopkeepers and former offender describe ‘daily’ losses and low reporting rates

POLICE statistics suggest shoplifting is falling across Wales – but retailers in Pembrokeshire have told The Herald the problem remains persistent, under-reported and, in some cases, worse than ever.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show a 10% decrease in police-recorded shoplifting across Wales in the year to September. In the Dyfed-Powys Police area, which covers Pembrokeshire, recorded offences fell by 20%.

The numbers were welcomed this week by retail union Usdaw, which said the drop offered “hope” that government action on retail crime was starting to have an effect.

However, several local traders said the official figures do not reflect what they are seeing on the ground.

One Milford Haven shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, told The Herald: “We don’t always report it now. You’d spend half your day on the phone. Sometimes it’s easier just to write it off. But it’s happening all the time.”

Another said theft had become “a daily nuisance”, adding that repeat offenders often returned within days.

Under-reporting concerns

The gap between statistics and experience may be explained by the way crimes are recorded.

Police figures only count incidents that are reported and logged. Retailers say many low-value thefts go unreported due to time pressures, lack of confidence that action will follow, and the administrative burden of statements and CCTV downloads.

Usdaw’s own survey of nearly 9,500 shop workers found that more than three-quarters had experienced verbal abuse, while over half had been threatened – with many incidents linked to theft.

Former offender speaks out

The Herald also spoke to a man from Milford Haven who was recently released from prison after serving time for repeated theft offences.

He said he had spent more than two years funding a drug habit by shoplifting across Pembrokeshire and in Cardiff.

According to his account, it was possible to steal goods worth up to £1,000 a day and sell them on, and he was “rarely stopped”.

“Most of the time you just walk out,” he claimed. “Even if staff catch you, they don’t always call police. It’s not worth their time.”

He said he had been detained around 50 times during what he described as hundreds of incidents, but only about ten led to police involvement and just four resulted in court.

While his experience is anecdotal, it echoes the frustrations voiced by local businesses who believe many thefts never make it into official statistics.

Government crackdown

The issue has also been raised in Parliament.

Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell has previously said he has spoken to local shop owners about the impact of retail crime and has welcomed government measures aimed at strengthening enforcement.

Labour has pledged tougher action on shoplifting, including ending the widely criticised £200 threshold that many retailers felt led to low-value thefts being deprioritised, alongside promises of more visible neighbourhood policing.

Retailers say any extra support would be welcome – but many believe rebuilding confidence that crimes will be taken seriously is key.

As one trader put it: “The stats might say it’s down. But if you’re running a small shop and losing stock every week, it doesn’t feel like it.”