header-logo header-logo

Stats reveal ‘broken’ justice

20 November 2019
Issue: 7865 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
printer mail-detail
The total number of individuals formally dealt with by the criminal justice system is at the lowest since records began, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures have revealed

The figure, of 1.58 million people between July 2018 and June 2019, represents a fall of two per cent on the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates’ courts, 1.37 million in the same period, has continued to decline since June 2016 and also fell by two per cent.

In the same period, police recorded crime rose overall by six per cent to 5.3m offences, excluding fraud.

The latest statistics, published last week, also found that the conviction ratio remained stable at 87%, while 10% fewer defendants were remanded on bail by the police and the custody rate decreased 6.5% to 74,800, the lowest since 2009.

While fewer suspects are being prosecuted, those who are convicted are spending longer in prison―average custodial sentence lengths have been steadily rising since June 2009, from 16.3 to 20.3 months for indictable offences and from 13.5 to 17.4 months overall.

Richard Atkins QC, Chair of the Bar Council said: ‘It will be a major concern to victims of crime and anyone who cares about the criminal justice system that the figures show that while recorded crime has been rising, prosecutions and out of court disposals have fallen.

‘The inescapable fact is that the disproportionate cuts to the criminal justice budget over many years has broken the system. Only a considerable investment in the criminal justice system by the next government will reverse the damage and restore public confidence.’

In her ‘Monday Message’ blog, Criminal Bar Association chair, Caroline Goodwin QC cited a recently published Institute of Government report, ‘The Performance Tracker 2019’. The report noted criminal cases have decreased in number but increased in complexity, requiring the courts to ‘make savings to meet demands’.

Issue: 7865 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll