Peter Csemiczky, a defence lawyer (Letters, 17 July), appears to have just seen his first digital consent form, used by police to require personal material from digital devices of rape complainants. He regards it as “sensitively” set out, user-friendly and not demanding anything. Unfortunately, I have seen a lot of them, brought to me by rape complainants who do not agree with him. It requires consent to download the entire contents of any device upon which the police wish to focus.
The police can write on the form what they are looking for but that is no bar on them searching it all once the form has been signed. Indeed, the form makes clear that anything found that might be evidence of another irrelevant offence by whoever it is will be sent to the appropriate authorities for action. If the complainant doesn’t sign and there is something that the police think might be “relevant to a fair trial”, the complainant’s prosecution may be abandoned. Yet the signature is consent to everything, required immediately she has made her statement, when nobody knows what will be relevant to a fair trial. The choice is: sign for us to take everything now or go away, however good your evidence and however serial your attacker may turn out to be.
Csemiczky claims that by speaking out, I am doing a disservice to the victims I’m in post to represent. But they, quite obviously, are the people who have brought this issue to me, asking for my help to make change.
Vera Baird QC
Victims’ commissioner for England and Wales
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