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Criminals try their luck by exploiting ‘scandalous’ trial backlogs to evade justice

Judges
Judges

Criminals accused of serious offences are opting for crown court trials in the hope victims and witnesses will drop out due to case delays, Britain’s most senior magistrate has warned.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mark Beattie, the new chairman of the Magistrates Association, said defendants are playing the system by pleading not guilty or opting for crown court - knowing there could be delays of up to two years before they are tried.

He said they were banking on victims and witnesses being far more likely to drop out and have a less clear recollection of events - whereas in magistrates’ courts, cases are being heard within six weeks.

“The delays are scandalous,” said Mr Beattie, a Justice of the Peace (JP) in north London.

“An offence going into the crown court has a victim. For that person who may have suffered a serious, violent or sexual offence, to have to worry for that length of time about going into court, giving evidence and what they might be asked, that cannot be right.

“Defendants definitely understand that there are delays in the crown courts because more of them are electing [for crown court], recognising they may very well not go to trial till 2024

“If you had something where you might get to trial in six or eight weeks in a magistrate's court, and you know that it's going to be 2024 before it's a crown court trial, which would you pick?”

Defendants facing “either way” offences can opt for trial by jury. These include burglary, theft, fraud, bribery, assault, stalking, harassment, public disorder, possession of drugs and sexual assault, exposure and voyeurism. The most serious offences such as murder, manslaughter and rape, must be tried in crown court.

Mr Beattie said fewer delays mean a “much greater percentage” of victims turn up. By contrast, long waits meant “they’ve reconciled, they’ve moved on, it’s much less fresh in their minds”, he said - adding: “We know there’s a positive outcome from a speedy trial.”

Campaign to recruit more magistrates

Magistrates have succeeded in bringing down the backlog in their cases by 100,000 to below 350,000 since the peak of the pandemic, despite being 5,000 JPs short of their target of 17,000 in post.

Ministers are keen to increase the role of magistrates to reduce delays. They have already changed the law to increase the sentencing powers - allowing them to jail offenders for up to a year instead of six months, as was the case previously. The retirement age for magistrates has also been increased to 70 and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a recruitment campaign.

However on Tuesday, the Magistrates Association is launching a campaign to persuade the Government to properly fund JPs. The association says they are being deterred from joining or staying on the bench by the prospect of being left out of pocket.

Magistrates are only entitled to a basic financial loss allowance of £107.97 a day. However, many of the volunteers earn more and it is up to employers to decide whether to make up the difference.

The association also fears the limited expenses regime could hamper a campaign to recruit more young, ethnic minority and socially diverse magistrates in an effort to shed the “white, middle-class retiree” image of the bench.

Some 40,000 people - many more of working age - have expressed an interest in joining the bench in response to the MoJ campaign.

'Magistrates should not be out of pocket'

There is already evidence that the traditional image of JPs is shifting. The percentage of over-50s among new recruits is 61 per cent, compared with 79 per cent for those in post. The proportion below 40 has doubled from seven to 16 per cent, according to the association. In London, nearly a third - 32 per cent - of magistrates are from ethnic minorities, although it is just five per cent in Wales.

“What we're looking for is effectively a statement from the Government that says it will accept that magistrates should not be out of pocket as part of their judicial duties,” said Mr Beattie.

The association believes this should take the form of a “magistrates volunteering compact”, with the Government recognising that JPs are “a cherished national institution” and that “people should not be out of pocket to volunteer”.

This could also include measures where employers seeking state contracts - such as train, bus or construction companies - would be required to allow workers to be magistrates and complete their expected minimum 13 sitting days without financial loss.

“Some of our best magistrates were people who were Tube drivers or bus drivers or teachers,” said Mr Beattie. “What we've found difficult is that for a number of those organisations, we can't get their employers to release them.”

An MoJ spokesman said there was no evidence to back the claims of defendants playing the system. "We have deployed a range of measures to reduce the backlog by over 2,000 from its pandemic-induced peak," he added.

“Magistrates’ vital work keeps justice moving which is why we recently increased their allowances and are investing over £1 million to support the recruitment of new magistrates.”