Rape victims are being told they must hand their mobile phones to police or risk undermining the prosecution of their attackers.
Two women are planning a legal challenge against the new consent forms, which request permission to access messages, photographs, emails and social media accounts. There are fears that the resultant evidence “could be used to vilify victims in court”, says The Times.
The forms have been introduced across the 43 forces in England and Wales after a series of rape and sexual assault cases collapsed when crucial evidence suddenly emerged.
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Many people “guard the contents of their smartphones jealously”, says the BBC, and would regard such a request from the police as an “invasion of privacy”. Some victims will feel they have been “violated all over again”, says the Daily Mail.
The digital consent forms can be used in any criminal investigations but legal experts say they are most likely to be used in rape and sexual assault cases, where complainants often know the suspect.
Director of public prosecutions Max Hill insisted that digital devices would be looked at only when they formed a “reasonable line of enquiry” and said only “relevant” material that met “hard and fast” rules would go before a court.
He added that prosecutors would endeavour to block the release of personal material not relevant to the case and judges would prevent the gratuitous use of material intended to present a “bad character” of the victim.
Nevertheless, Big Brother Watch compared the procedure to a “digital strip search” and warned that “treating rape victims like suspects” could deter them from reporting crimes.
Victim Support agreed, stating that it is “very likely” that it could add to victims' distress and “further deter” them from coming forward to access the “justice and support they deserve”.
The issue of evidence from phones came to prominence in 2017 when a series of defendants had charges of rape and serious sexual assault against them dropped because crucial evidence emerged as they went on trial.
Liam Allan was accused of rape but had his case thrown out of court after it emerged that a detective had not handed over text messages from the accuser’s phone.
