Old Bailey Farewell to Stenographers

Think of the major criminal trials that have taken place in the Old Bailey since the beginning of the 20th Century: Dr Crippen, John Christie, Ruth Ellis, The Yorkshire Ripper, the Soham Murders…

In each and every case the cast list has included, along with judges, journalists, clerks, barristers, and curious members of the public, a man or woman sitting in the corner recording every word spoken.

Since 1907 they have noted the proceedings down by hand – either in shorthand or on a stenography machine – that is until 4.15pm on Friday, March 23, 2012.

For from Monday cases will be recorded digitally by machines in an attempt to cut costs.

The Old Bailey’s famous Courtroom No. 1 – the stenographers sat at the far left of this photo, on the same row as the judge. The jury sits on the left, the defendant in the dock on the near right and the barristers in the rows on the right. Below and in front of the judge sits the court clerk.

Judge John Bevan QC, sitting in the Old Bailey’s famous Court No. 1, marked the occasion with a short speech marking his regret at the change.

“This is the last day in which this court, which has been well served by stenographers and shorthand writers, is going to have their assistance.

“There is going to be a machine in future which, having been organised by the Ministry of Justice, will no doubt work perfectly.

“We deeply regret the stenographers will not be with us. They will be behind the scenes trying to make the system work. They will not be in court, which some of us might regard as a pity.”

The stenographers are being kept on one more week just in case the new digital system breaks down. After that they will be called on only if a transcription of the audio file is required by any of the legal teams involved.

Another victory for the machines. But that doesn’t mean anybody can capture proceedings using a digital recorder – their use is banned under the Contempt of Court Act.

Links:

Stenography and Charles Dickens – our blog piece when the news was announced.

For the record, stenographers put down their pens at the Old Bailey – Evening Standard

The Unsolved Murder of Andrew Cunningham – A Sister’s Plea for Help

The sister of a father-of-five who was murdered three years ago blames The Sun newspaper for the failure to catch his killers.

In December 2011, Sarah-Jane Cunningham spent the third anniversary of her brother’s death handing out police appeal notices.

She was prepared for indifference. But she was genuinely shocked when some members of the public not only refused to take the flyers but also made comments like ”No, I am glad.”

What was it about this murder that aroused so little sympathy?

Andrew Cunningham was 52 when he was found dead in his caravan in Tooting, southwest London, at 7.40am on Wednesday, December 10, 2008. He had suffered multiple stab wounds, including what police describe as ‘unusual injuries’ to his genitals.

Andrew Cunningham

His home had been ransacked and his wallet containing between £4,000 and £6,000 was missing. The killer or killers had also opened boxes containing Christmas presents for Andrew’s friends.

Detectives now believe robbery is the most likely motive but early reports suggested the reason lay in the victim’s history as a registered sex offender.

The Sun led with a front page headline ‘MOB KILL PAEDO – vigilantes mutilate sex offender’. It also reported that Mr Cunningham had spent four months in prison in 2001 for raping a girl under 13 and had recently been accused of fondling a barmaid’s two year-old daughter. Other newspapers repeated the allegations and the following day the Sun ran an interview with the victim’s ex-wife in which she described him as ‘pure, cold evil.’

Mr Cunningham had in fact been jailed for having sex with a 15 year-old girl. He spent seven years on the Sex Offenders’ Register but his name was taken off in 2008, a few months before his death. And detectives have described the reports of a mob as ‘nonsense.’

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Scola told the Independent in July 2009: “There is no two-year-old girl. This was a rumour that we do not believe was true. As for the mob theory, we have looked at various CCTV images and there is no evidence of a mob being in the area. Certainly, if there was they all left individually. There were no burning torches or anything like that.”

But for Tracy-Jane Cunningham the damage has already been done.

“Why is my brother case not receiving public support with information to catch his killers?

Well the answer to this is negative media reporting mainly by the Sun and News International Group who in order to sell their story decided to profile him to the world as a Evil Sexual monster out for sex with children.

Sarah-Jane Cunningham

Sarah-Jane was also upset by comments left online by members of the public under the stories which effectively approved of the murder.

It was this same attitude that she experienced personally while out on the streets of Tooting on December 10, 2011.

On the Anniversary of this murder I was present with Police at the location of this crime as I needed to be there and doing something to help solve this horrific case.

For the last three years my life been on hold waiting for that knock on the door from officers to say ‘Yes we have them.’

It will only be when I hear those words will I be able to lay in my bed and sleep the whole night without waking up crying for a beloved caring man who was my big protective brother I loved with all my heart.

Some members of the public refused to accept to take one of the Appeal Notices from me making comments like “No I am glad”.

Had they of known that I was in fact Andrew’s sister I really do not believe they would have had the bottle to make such careless comment and what was more shocking that some negative remarks and actions were from women.

Sarah-Jane Cunningham

Detectives have offered a £20,000 reward for information and continue to appeal for help solving the murder.

All I can say now is if you have any humanity in you and you have information about this case, be that the offenders or any material evidence such as the whereabouts of the weapon or things stolen from my brother, or know where the clothing is of any suspect or suspects, call the police with that information.

I know of no place where there is an offence of murder for a likeable person ‘A’ but no offence of murder of ‘B’ if we do not like the person past history. Murder is Murder regardless of who we are and or what we have done in our lives.

Like everyone who has had a loved one murdered my reaction at first is bring back the death penalty but I am not religious and in my heart I know that even the death penalty for such an offence is in itself murder by that by the State.

There’s just no justification for any act of taking another persons life. So Please help and do the right thing and help the police because one day you may need the public and police’s help too.

Sarah-Jane Cunningham

Any witnesses or anyone with any information should contact the incident room at Sutton on 020 8721 4005. Information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A Brief History of Cameras in Court

Earlier this month Sky, ITN and the BBC lobbied the government to allow cameras in court. The hope is that criminal trials could be televised as early as early as 2015.

The ban on taking photographs goes back to 1925 but even before then cameras had to be smuggled into courtrooms in hats or bags.

Crippen and Le Neve at Bow Street Magistrates Court

Probably the most famous ‘snatched’ courtroom image is that of ‘Body in the Cellar’ murderer Dr Crippen and his mistress Ethel Le Neve, in 1910.

Two years later a photographer decided to go one better by taking a picture of the poisoner Frederick Seddon as he was being sentenced to death at the Old Bailey. You can just make out the black cap on the head of the judge, Mr Justice Burchill.

Frederick Seddon (left, in the dock) being sentenced to death. Source: Wikipedia

This photo’s publication in an illustrated paper in March 1912 led to questions in the House of Commons. The MP Alexander MacCallum Scott suggested the government should ‘introduce legislation either to prohibit altogether the taking of such photographs or to provide that cinematograph proprietors will have equal facilities of photographing such proceedings and making a public spectacle of them.’ (Hansard 18/3/12)

Sadly the idea of allowing proceedings to be filmed with a ‘cinematograph’ (an early motion picture camera) was not pursued.

The Home Secretary Reginald McKenna gave his reply a few days later (Hansard 21/3/12): ‘I find that no permission was given for the taking of the photograph in question or of any photograph in the Court. It must have been taken without authority and surreptitiously. The Lord Mayor, the Sheriffs, and the officers of the Court strongly disapprove of such photographs being taken, and share my hon. Friend’s indignation that anyone should have been guilty of such an outrage.’

However McKenna wasn’t sufficiently outraged to bring in any legislation and in 1915 a photographer managed to grab a shot of the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer.

The ban only appeared ten years later as a small section (no. 41) in the Criminal Justice Act 1925, which mainly dealt with the system of probation.

No person shall (a) take or attempt to take in any court any photograph, or with a view to publication make or attempt to make in any court any portrait or sketch, of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal; or (b) publish any photograph, portrait or sketch taken or made in contravention of the foregoing provisions of this section or any reproduction thereof;

The act stated that the maximum punishment for breaking the law was a fine of £50.

Since then newspapers and TV companies have used sketches by court artists, made outside court from memory.

More recently, the taking of photographs in court has been dealt with as a contempt of court rather than under the 1925 Act. A 19 year-old man who took pictures inside Luton Crown Court on his mobile phone was jailed for two months while a Frenchman was kept sweating in the cells for two hours after taking a picture during Julian Assange’s appearance at the High Court.

This restriction on the use of mobile phone cameras in court is likely to remain even if the 1925 law is relaxed. Similarly, the ban on sound recording equipment under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 will probably only be partially lifted.

All that will be shown and heard, according to the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, is the judge delivering his sentencing remarks. No defendant in the dock, no witnesses, no prosecutor or defence barrister. Still, it’s a start.

Gangs, Murder and the Police

The launch of the new ‘Trident Gang Crime Command’ is being backed by the mother of murdered teenager Negus McLean.

Negus was 15 years old when he was stabbed to death by a gang of youths in Edmonton, north London, on April 10, 2011.

The case remains unsolved thanks to a ‘wall of silence’ preventing witnesses from coming forward to help police arrest the killers.

Ingrid Adams, Negus’ mother, said in an interview: “I go to bed thinking of Negus and wake up thinking about him. I will always remember his smile. Even if a child isn’t in a gang they probably know someone who is in a gang or is affiliated with a gang.

“The police need to start with children very early. When I was growing up the police used to come into my school. You have to start young and talk to them to gain their trust. I know there is a problem with so called snitching and loyalties. But keeping quiet isn’t helping the problem.

“There is this wall of silence that needs to be broken down. They need to come forward to talk to the police. The wall of silence needs to stop. Since Negus there has been so many others.

“Negus was murdered on a Sunday; it was a bright sunny day. It could happen to anybody. It is anybody this problem doesn’t just affect the poor, people from broken homes or gang members, it could happen to anyone.”

The Met police have 4800 ‘nominals’ and 435 gangs recorded on their gangs database and estimate that 250 are criminally active. They claim 62 of those are responsible for two thirds of gang-related offences.

Gang members are thought to be responsible for 17% of all personal robbery, 40% of ‘cash in transit’ and commercial robbery, 12% of residential burglary, 26% of aggravated burglary, 14% of rape, 22% of serious violence, 20% of stabbings and 50% of shootings.

It’s difficult to put a figure on exactly how many murders are ‘gang-related’ but there are several high-profile cases every year.

Take 2010 as an example: In April Agnes Sina-Inakoju, 18, was shot dead with a submachine gun by two members of the ‘London Fields’ gang (the same gang was responsible for the murder of 15 year-old Shaquille Smith in 2008). Nicholas Pearton was stabbed to death by members of the ‘Shanks and Guns’ gang in Sydenham in May 2010. Samuel Ogunro was shot dead on the orders of a member of the ‘Peckham Boys’ in June 2010. Zac Olumegbon was stabbed to death by members of the Brixton GAS gang in July 2010. Sylvester Akapalara, 17, was shot dead by members of the GAS gang in December 2010. The murders of Gulistan Subasi and Ezra Mills in March 2010, Michael Ofori in June 2010, Marvin Henry in October 2010 and Sylvester Senyah in November 2010 were also said to be carried out by members of London gangs.

According to the Met Police the new Trident Gang Crime Command will be made up of 1,000 officers.

In a statement, it said: “The new command will retain responsibility for the prevention and investigation of shootings, but will now work more closely with boroughs to proactively tackle gang crime.

“The new command will be enhanced with additional specialist resources from the MPS, including Operation Connect and the Serious and Organised Crime Command (SCD7). It will take responsibility for real time monitoring of gang activity across London and work with new ‘Grip and Pace’ centres to coordinate and task corporate resources, both overt and covert, quickly at the relevant places.”

The Trident Gang Crime Command also has a new logo:

Trident Gang Crime Command logo should be here

The focus is on 19 ‘priority’ boroughs – Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Merton, Camden, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Review 2011: The Victims

There were 114 homicides in London in 2011 compared to 122 the previous year, according to our own list of cases. This continues the downward trend since 2003.

The good news continues when we break down the cases by weapon. What had started to look like an increase in fatal shootings went into reverse while fatal stabbings showed a slight increase.

Fewer teenagers were killed in 2011 than in the previous year (reduced from 19 to 15). This continues the progress made since the peak of 2007/8 and the headline cases of Ben Kinsella and Rob Knox. Clearly the next group to target is the 20-29 year olds.

The percentage of female victims also reduced slightly from 25 to 23 per cent from 2010. Here is an unnecessary pie chart.

The low total for 2011 had not looked possible in the first two months of the year with 13 homicides in January and 15 in February. The only other significant spike was in August, which was the month of the riots.

Finally here are the figures broken down by borough for the last four years. Newham and Hackney had ‘good’ years while only Lambeth broke into double figures.

Borough2008200920102011
Barking and Dagenham1341
Barnet3274
Bexley3304
Brent11454
Bromley0514
Camden1232
City of London0100
City of Westminster4441
Croydon5766
Ealing5447
Enfield9435
Greenwich5645
Hackney5772
Hammersmith and Fulham1134
Haringey4938
Harrow1530
Havering0101
Hillingdon3222
Hounslow1120
Islington7464
Kensington and Chelsea0100
Kingston0101
Lambeth137811
Lewisham5786
Merton5101
Newham67153
Redbridge4123
Richmond0000
Southwark12867
Sutton3331
Tower Hamlets6859
Waltham Forest7565
Wandsworth4623
Total134130122114

Note: The Metropolitan Police’s rolling 12 month tables give figures of 124 homicides for 2010 and 117 for 2011.