Monday Message 04.11.24
The key to a functioning criminal justice system is to ensure that people are arrested for serious criminal offences, that the alleged crimes are thoroughly investigated, and that the appropriate cases are prosecuted by an independent organisation which makes choices based on evidence, not politics. Where an accused person denies the offence, there must be a fair trial within a timely period. Those convicted and those who plead guilty then need to be sentenced for their crimes so that the public are protected and the offender is punished and rehabilitated into the community.
Without a timely, fair and rigorous court process there can be no justice. A society without a functioning criminal justice system soon turns into one where citizens take the law into their own hands.
For decades the criminal justice system has been allowed to rot, regardless of which political party was in power. As it crumbled, the rhetoric about being tough on crime continued. The belief was that the vast majority of the public would not really care about justice. After all, they were not criminals.
In the absence of a fully functional, properly funded police service, the crime rate has risen to 6.66 million crimes in 2023-2024. This is the second highest level since 2002. In 2023-2024 there were 67,928 accusations of serious sexual offending. In 2002 that figure was 12,295. The percentage of crimes charged is 5.7%, less in RASSO cases. Each month, the number of new cases reaching the Crown Court outweighs the number of cases which are dealt with. That means that the backlog of 67,573 Crown Court cases at the end of 2023 is not reducing. Assuming that this stays the same, the alleged 2000 days of sitting time which will be “saved” by the increase in Magistrates’ sentencing powers will reduce the backlog to 35,000 cases in about 17 years if all the trials in the backlog lasted a day.
It is worth remembering that “criminals,” those with a criminal record, now amount to 12.5 million of us. That is one in four of the population and perhaps as much as one in three men. Reoffending, which is at a rate of 58% amongst those who have been sentenced to 12 months or fewer, costs this country £18 billion each year. We understand that the MOJ are keen to indicate that they have increased sitting days. That is not the real life experience of those of us working within the courts. Some Court centres with two Crown Courts, such as Truro, are disproportionately affected by the reduction from unlimited sitting days and will have to close one court for seven weeks.
What is vital is that those who have committed serious criminal offences do not escape justice because their victims cannot bear the trauma of waiting years for these cases to be heard. We understand that one in four are now giving up on the criminal justice system.
Each person who accuses a person of a serious crime and each person who is alleged to have committed a serious crime requires representation in the Crown Court by self-employed barristers or solicitors with Higher Rights of Audience. Both strands of the profession have seen significant reductions in the numbers of practitioners willing or able to do this work. With the skill of our advocates the Crown Court functions far better than the financial investment within it merits. The conviction rate is at about 77%. The average sentence imposed is 20 months with much higher sentences for serious violence, drugs, robbery and sexual offending.
One suggestion to reduce the backlog is to remove the right to jury trial for people accused of the most serious crimes. The Government has rightly described jury trial as one of the most important civic duties that anyone can perform. Juries are fair, effective, efficient and do not tend to discriminate against those with protected characteristics, in particular race. Jurors, between the ages of 18-75, from all walks of life, decide the verdict. A jury allows the public to ensure that law is applied properly and fairly and they convict more than they acquit. The right to trial by jury is a fundamental right of our unwritten constitution and should not be removed because of chronic underfunding. The solution is investment.
Other groups, prison, probation, now know what the future holds for them. We do not yet garner that level of respect. We await the receipt of the CLAAB report and the information from the Ministry of Justice, following the receipt of that report and the budget, as to whether the remaining reduction in real terms of 20% of our income will be addressed at all. We are a vital cog in the criminal justice system. Will that be recognised so that we can halt the attrition rate, or will more of us turn away from this area of law and move to far, far more lucrative practice?
Information on the DAPO Pilot
The Government intends to launch a Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) and Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) pilot in November 2024 in Greater Manchester, three Boroughs in South London (Croydon, Sutton and Bromley) and with the British Transport Police.
Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors (FLOWS), a specialist legal service provided by the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice (RCJ Advice) is hosting a live training event on DAPO specifically for legal professionals who work with women survivors of domestic abuse experiencing criminal and family law issues.
The event will take place on 11th November from 12:30 to 14:00 and will be open to the FLOWS forum members only. If you are interested in joining, register to become the forum member via ‘register now’ function at the bottom of the website after which you can join the event here. The event will also be recorded and made available to forum members after the session.
Yours,
Mary Prior KC
Chair of The Criminal Bar Association.