Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

i. Aligning the criminal courts: Magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court deal with

different levels of criminal offence, but they must work better together to provide a

more efficient service. We are working with the judiciary on structural and

procedural changes that will give the senior judiciary clearer oversight of, and

flexibility to manage, judicial leadership in the criminal jurisdiction. This will enable

the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts to operate more closely together –

stronger leadership and alignment will improve court performance for everyone

involved. To support this, we will bring the structures of the courts closer by

reforming existing local justice areas and making it easier to transfer cases between

the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court when appropriate – starting in the right

place will make the process simpler and easier for victims and defendants.

ii. Making it easier for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (including victims) to give

evidence: We will roll out the use of pre-trial cross-examination in Crown Court

trials, allowing vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to pre-record their cross-

examination, meaning the witness does not always need to attend the trial itself. A

pilot found that this procedure meant witnesses gave evidence in half the time it

would take at trial. We believe that expanding this will reduce distress for victims

and witnesses and improve their overall experience of the justice system.

i.Introducing problem solving courts: We are exploring the opportunities for problem

solving methods further with the judiciary and collecting the evidence base. We are

continuing to trial this approach in locations across the UK.

ii. Using out of court disposals: We will use out of court disposals in appropriate cases,

to help change offenders’ behaviour at the earliest possible opportunity– with swift

and certain consequences for offenders who do not comply with the conditions

attached.

i. Streamlining process: We are making changes to the way cases progress through

the criminal courts, including removing unnecessary appearances in court (such as

first appearances in magistrates’ courts for cases which can only be tried in the

Crown Court), introducing a more efficient process to allocate cases to the Crown

Court or magistrates’ courts and allowing simple decisions to be made via a new

online system.

ii. Using technology to make processes more efficient: We will increase the use

of video link and telephone and video conferencing technology to make

hearings easier and more convenient for all, including victims and witnesses

and criminal justice system agencies. We will work with the police to hold bail

hearings by video link from police stations to reduce the need for some

offenders to be held in police cells overnight. In appropriate cases offenders

will be able to plead guilty, be convicted and sentenced all on the same day by

live video link from police stations.

iii. Introducing a new collaborative IT system: The Common Platform is already

being developed to provide a single case management IT system for use

throughout the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts. It will provide access to

case material and information to many agencies within the criminal justice

system as well as the defence, victims and witnesses. Many current paper and

court-based processes will be moved online, saving time and increasing

efficiency for all court users.

iv. Enabling online convictions and fixed fines: For certain routine, low-level

summary, non-imprisonable offences with no identifiable victim, we propose to

introduce a system which resolves cases entirely online. Defendants would log

on to an online system to see the evidence against them before entering a

plea. If they plead guilty, they can opt in to (and can always opt out of) the

online system which allows them to view the penalty, accept the conviction

and penalty, and pay their fine. Cases would be resolved immediately and

entirely online, without the involvement of a magistrate.

Many of these proposals build on initiatives already started. However, the suggestion for more problem solving courts is potentially quite innovative and could lead to significant change to the ways in which the criminal courts have historically operated.

See chapter 2: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/transforming-our-courts-and-tribunals/supporting_documents/consultationpaper.pdf