Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
The government’s review into the backlog of criminal cases has been led by Sir Brian Leveson, a retired High Court judge, who has said that the court delays experienced by victims and defendants are unacceptable. According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), figures have shown that 73,105 trials were unheard at the end of September, almost double the number in 2019. Sir Brian’s report, due next year, will consider the creation of intermediate courts where cases could be heard by a judge flanked by magistrates, to reduce the backlog. However, he also acknowledged that radical steps would need to be taken to tackle the “crisis” that has seen cases added to the criminal justice system “faster than they can be removed”.
“This isn’t so much a challenge,” he told the BBC, “it’s a crisis in the criminal justice system which has to be addressed”. Sir Brian also pointed out that it wasn’t acceptable for victims, witnesses or defendants to deal with delays to their cases. He added that listings now run into 2027, which means that the number of prosecutions waiting to be dealt with is “unsustainable.”
The backlog in Crown Courts at the end of September was up 10% in a year, according to figures published by the MoJ on Thursday. Sir Brian said that he would consider the extent to which people can be diverted from the criminal justice system. He believed that magistrates should have a broader remit to deal with more cases, potentially including increasing their sentencing powers. For example, a single district judge and two community magistrates could replace the jury in middle-ranking cases.
The review was welcomed by the chair of the Magistrates’ Association, which said its members were willing to help with the backlog. In contrast, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents barristers central to Crown Court cases, said the review had to address how much cash was available for justice.
Sir Brian also referred to the widespread disorder over the summer, following the killing of three girls in Southport, which saw buildings including mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers vandalised and dozens of police officers injured. Sir Brian said that the best deterrent to crime is speedy justice and that the recent riots had died down after people were being sentenced, convicted, tried, and prosecuted within a speedy time. If both reviews recommend significant changes and ministers accept those ideas, they would represent the most significant changes to the criminal justice system in a generation
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.