The UK government is giving magistrates new powers to sentence criminals to jail terms of up to 12 months in a bid to ease the backlog of criminal trials. This initiative has already been tested by the Conservative government, but was discontinued due to overcrowding in prisons. The move is set to temporarily increase the number of prisoners, but Labour has stated that it has the potential to work in the long-term.
Magistrates in England and Wales have traditionally been limited to sentencing offenders to a maximum of six months for a single offence, whereas more serious cases were heard in crown courts. However, there is a current backlog of around 68,000 cases in the higher courts, exacerbated by cuts prior to the pandemic, a national lockdown in 2020, and a subsequent barristers’ strike. At present, there are 17,000 suspects on remand waiting for a trial.
The UK’s new initiative aims to buy the system some breathing space whilst the government investigates major reforms to how sentencing works. Last month, the government introduced an emergency plan to allow offenders to leave prison before completing their term on a monitored licence after serving 40% of their time, as prisons became overcrowded. Further, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood claimed that the early release scheme was now operating as expected, but the overcrowding of remand prisoners in jails highlighted the need for change.
Critics of this initiative argue that a previous Conservative trial of this plan, conducted between 2022 and 2023, ended in failure, primarily due to increased jail populations with no improvement in the backlog. Official projections suggest that the short-term increase in prison numbers could be relatively low, perhaps as little as 100, if the plan succeeds in pushing more remand cases through the courts. The BBC is expected to release modelling for the government’s projections when the plan is formally submitted to MPs.
The former Conservative Justice Secretary, David Gauke, has endorsed Labour’s proposals, stating that “we simply need to have more people sentenced in the magistrates courts, which means we need to be thinking about how we can safely sentence people to longer sentences in those courts.”
Critics of the government’s new sentencing powers, such as Mary Prior, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, believe that “doubling magistrates’ maximum sentencing powers will only increase pressure on reduced prison space, by speedily raising the much bigger sentenced prisoner population.” However, Mark Beattie, chair of the Magistrates’ Association, supports the plan, stating that “our members and colleagues will take up this increased responsibility with professionalism and integrity and will – as always – strive to deliver the highest quality of justice in their courts.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
