Witnesses who fear to testify

The failure of two key witnesses to testify in the Damian Cope murder trial is the latest example in a long line of cases that are abandoned because people refuse to give evidence in court.

Recent government figures show that more than 30,000 criminal cases a year are scrapped because witnesses or victims are too scared to testify.

Four out of five witnesses to Yardie killings will not take to the witness box for fear of reprisals, yet in 90 per cent of black-on-black murders police believe they know the killers.

Senior officers in Operation Trident say there is an urgent need to find safe houses for witnesses to gun crime.

But community groups such as Mothers Against Guns say much more needs to be done to prevent young men from poor areas being sucked into gang culture, which claims to provide respect and standing.

This work, they say, has to start at a much younger age.

The Government has acknowledged that the judicial system has lost the confidence of the public because too few criminals are caught, convicted or prevented from reoffending.