Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

Keeping the English Legal System under review

Posts Tagged ‘criminal justice’

The treasure in the heart of man – making prisons work

leave a comment »

The new Lord Chancellor, Michael Gove, is turning out to be a very interesting appointment. Following his speech on his vision for the justice system, (see this blog 23 June 2015), he has now given a truly remarkable lecture on how prisons might be made to work more effectively in helping to rehabilitate offenders and leading them to play a constructive role in society.

Taking his inspiration from Winston Churchill, who once said ‘There is a treasure, if only you can find it, in the heart of every man’ he has noted that education must be at the heart of the prison experience.

To be fair, his predecessor said something very similar; but then went on to ban books being available to prisoners, which seemed, at the least, to be counter-productive.

Michael Gove, pursuing interested he had as Secretary of State for Education, has returned to the same theme.

At present, Gove noted

45% of adult prisoners re-offend within one year of release. For those prisoners serving shorter sentences – those of less than twelve months – the figure rises to 58%. And, saddest of all, more than two-thirds of offenders under the age of 18 re-offend within twelve months of release.

Referring to the characteristics of those in prison, he said:

Prisoners come – disproportionately – from backgrounds where they were deprived of proper parenting, where the home they first grew up in was violent, where they spent time in care, where they experienced disrupted and difficult schooling, where they failed to get the qualifications necessary to succeed in life and where they got drawn into drug-taking.

Three quarters of young offenders had an absent father, one third had an absent mother, two-fifths have been on the child protection register because they were at risk of abuse and neglect.

  • 41% of prisoners observed domestic violence as a child
  • 24% of prisoners were taken into care as children. That compares with just 2% of the general population
  • 42% of those leaving prison had been expelled from school when children compared to 2% of general population
  • 47% have no school qualifications at all – not one single GCSE – this compares to 15% of the working age general population
  • Between 20 and 30% of prisoners have learning difficulties or disabilities and 64% have used Class A drugs

His answer to this is to try to ensure that there is much more ‘purposeful activity’ in prisons so that prisoners are helped to fill in some of the gaps in their education and upbringing.

Gove continued:

In prisons there is a – literally – captive population whose inability to read properly or master basic mathematics makes them prime candidates for re-offending. Ensuring those offenders become literate and numerate makes them employable and thus contributors to society, not a problem for our communities. Getting poorly-educated adults to a basic level of literacy and numeracy is straightforward, if tried and tested teaching models are followed, as the armed forces have demonstrated. So the failure to teach our prisoners a proper lesson is indefensible.

In this context, Gove proposes that prisoners should be required to earn early release from prison by showing they have participated in and learned from appropriate educational opportunities. He want to down play, even abolish, the automatic release of prisoners halfway through their sentences – a practice which he says means that sentences imposed by judges hardly ever mean what they purport to say.

It is not clear how far detailed policy work has been undertaken to bring this vision into effect – it seems likely that it would be a policy that would require significant additional resources, even if in the long run savings could be made through the reduction It may therefore be easier said than done. But as a goal for the prison system to aim for, it makes a lot of sense.

To read the whole speech go to https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-treasure-in-the-heart-of-man-making-prisons-work

Written by lwtmp

August 3, 2015 at 9:55 am

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , ,

The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015

with one comment

The Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 was passed in February 2015. It is a complex piece of legislation which deals with four broad topics:

  • Part 1 Criminal Justice,
  • Part 2 Youth Offenders,
  • Part 3 Courts and tribunals, and
  • Part 4 Judicial Review.

What follows is by no means a full analysis of the Act. It is a selective review of those matters that seem most relevant to the development of the English Legal System

Part 1 makes a number of detailed amendments to the law relating to those found guilty of very serious offences, such as terrorism offences. In some cases the maximum sentence is increased from 30 years to life imprisonment. In addition, the Parole Board is given new responsibilities to assess the risk of certain serious offenders, such as those convicted of serious terrorism or serious sexual and violent offences before they are released into the community. No longer will such offenders be entitled to automatic release halfway through a sentence.

Once released from prison on licence, there are increased powers to monitor such persons through the use of electronic tracking devices.

If an offender who has been released on licence is recalled, the decision about what should happen to him will in future be taken by a ‘recall adjudicator’ rather than being automatically being referred to the Parole Board for consideration. Since the Parole Board can itself be appointed a ‘recall adjudicator’ it will still be involved in some decisions, but in other cases the decision can be made by a single adjudicator rather than a panel drawn from the Board.

Sections 17-19 set out the restrictions on the use of cautions by the police which have long been promised by the Government. In essence, the more serious the alleged offence, the more restrictions on the use of cautions.

There are a number of offences created relating to wilful neglect by care workers.

In cases involving the murder of police or prison officers, where the sentence is life, the Act provides that the starting point for consideration of the minimum period of detention should be the whole life, rather than, as at present 30 years.

Part 2 deals with Youth Offenders. Currently, young offenders may be detained in young offender institutions, remand centres and secure training centres. The Act provides that in addition there can be established secure colleges – designed to place greater emphasis on the education of young offenders. The Act also provides for the contracting out of the provision of services relating to young offenders.

Among other detailed amendments, Section 41 amends the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 so that any youth caution or youth conditional caution given to a young person aged 17 must be given in the presence of an appropriate adult. That is already a requirement where a youth caution or youth conditional caution is given to a child or young person aged under 17.

Part 3 on Courts and tribunals among other things introduces a new single justice procedure whereby proceedings against adults charged with summary-only non-imprisonable offences can be considered by a single magistrate, on the papers. This will be without the attendance of either prosecutor or defendant. The defendant will be able to engage with the court in writing instead of attending a hearing; as neither prosecutors nor defence will be attending, the case will not need to be heard in a traditional courtroom.

The purpose of this new procedure is to deal more proportionately with straightforward, uncontested cases, involving offences such as failure to register a new vehicle keeper, driving without insurance, exceeding a 30mph speed limit, and TV licence evasion. In many of these cases the defendant is not present in court, either because they have chosen not to engage with the process or because the defendant has sent a written guilty plea. In such cases, the hearing takes place in an empty courtroom with only magistrates, prosecutors and court staff present. This procedure offers an alternative form of proceedings to help ensure that these cases are brought before the court at the earliest opportunity and dealt with more efficiently.

The Act introduces a new principle that those convicted of crimes should be required to make a contribution towards the costs of the criminal court. The details will appear in regulations in due course.

Part 3 also extends the potential use of ‘leap-frogging’ – enabling cases that are clearly going to go to the Supreme Court to get there directly, without the need for a hearing in the Court of Appeal.

Part 3 also raises the age limit for jurors to 75. It also creates new offences that may be committed by jurors – e.g. using social media during a trial.

Part 4 – on changes to Judicial review – will be the subject of a separate blog entry.

The Act and accompanying explanatory notes can be found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/2/contents

Written by lwtmp

May 29, 2015 at 4:36 pm

Posted in Chapter 5, chapter 6, Chapter 8

Tagged with , , , ,

Efficiency in the Criminal Justice system – pleas online – minor motoring offences

leave a comment »

In February 2015, the Government announced that – from March 2015 – it would be possible for those charged with minor motoring offences to plead online.People charged with summary motoring offences, like speeding, failing to identify the driver or using a vehicle without insurance, are now able to use the website to respond to charges against them.

The new digital system means defendants will be able to make their plea from any suitable device 24 hours a day through the secure website.

The service is offered as an alternative to a postal plea or attending court and was developed with court users to meet their needs. It was trialled in the Greater Manchester are before being rolled out nationally.

The ‘make a plea’ site is at https://www.makeaplea.justice.gov.uk/

The announcement is at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/digital-make-a-plea-system-means-people-can-choose-where-and-when-they-plead

Written by lwtmp

May 5, 2015 at 8:04 pm

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , ,

Review of Efficiency in the Criminal Justice System

leave a comment »

Just before the 2014-15 Parliamentary session came to an end, the Government announced that it had accepted in principle all the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson on improving efficiency in the Criminal Justice system. (See entry in this blog in January 2015).
Particular emphasis was placed on changes that might be brought about with no or very little public expenditure.
The announcement was made in a letter from the Lord Chancellor to Lord Justice Leveson.
See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-sir-brian-levesons-review-of-efficiency-in-criminal-proceedings

Written by lwtmp

May 4, 2015 at 3:29 pm

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , ,

Disclosure of unused evidence in a criminal trial

leave a comment »

Part 2 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 makes provision for the publication of a Code of Practice which sets out how police officers are to record, retain and reveal to the prosecutor material obtained in a criminal investigation. A previous version of the code was published in 2005.

In May 2014 the Magistrates’ Court Disclosure Review recommended a streamlined procedure in summary cases that are expected to end in a guilty plea, so that a schedule of unused material need not be served in such cases. To this end it recommended amendments to the code, some of which are incorporated in the revised code.

The revised code was laid in Parliament on 28 January 2015. The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Code of Practice) Order 2015 will bring it into force the day after the Order has been approved by affirmative resolution of both Houses of Parliament.

The Code, in its present unappoved form is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-procedure-and-investigations-act-code-of-practice

Written by lwtmp

March 3, 2015 at 4:39 pm

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , , ,

Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings

leave a comment »

The results of the inquiry by Lord Justice Leveson into the efficiency of criminal proceedings was published in January 2015.

His task was to come up with recommendations that could be implemented without legislative change.

In summary, he recommends:

  • the greater use  of  video and other conferencing technology across the system (including courts and prisons) particularly featuring remote hearings in the Crown Court, which would lead to a better service for all those involved and reduce both delay and cost (para. 40-50);
  • facilitating the use in court of evidence gathered by police on video cameras mounted on their bodies or helmets (para. 58) and a streamlined approach to other evidence which has been captured electronically,  such as interviews of child witnesses (achieving best evidence) and interviews with defendants (para. 250);
  • more flexible opening hours in magistrates’ courts to accommodate those who cannot attend hearings during normal office hours (para. 54);
  • tighter case management by judges, including, in appropriate cases, the provision of timetables for evidence and  speeches (para. 274, 281);
  • that contracts awarded to those responsible for delivering prisoners to court should require greater efficiency so that prisoners appear on time and do not delay proceedings (para. 214).
  • that there should be funding available to pay for the inevitable cost of changing from the current systems to the more efficient ones (para. 320).

There is also an interesting chapter (chapter 10) on other changes that might be contemplated, but on which, because they would require legislation, he does not make recommendations. These include the controversial question of whether the ways in which defendants can opt for jury trial should be changed.

The full report can be found at http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/review-of-efficiency-in-criminal-proceedings-final-report/

Written by lwtmp

February 3, 2015 at 1:09 pm

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , , ,

Reforming the criminal justice system

leave a comment »

This blog has already noted ideas for reforming criminal justice – for example, the creation of new traffic courts, and the review of the criminal trial process to make it more cost effective.

A policy think tank, the Policy Exchange, has recently (Feb 2014) published a paper – Future Courts – setting out ideas for more radical reform of the criminal justice system, in particular magistrates’ courts. The following synopsis is taken from their website. What ideas do you think might work? What would not?

“Magistrates should dispense justice inside police stations at peak times – including evenings and weekends – and be put in charge of the administration of out-of-court disposals, as part of a radical drive to speed up the operation of the criminal justice system.

Future Courts argues that locating magistrates in police stations would deliver much swifter justice, dramatically reducing the time it takes to punish criminals. There is currently a two month delay from the time an offender is charged by the police to the sentence being handed down in a magistrates’ court. The report says that this wasted time weakens the power of punishments and means that the system does little to change the behaviour of offenders.

Reforming summary justice so that magistrates hear cases on-the-spot in police stations would also allow them to oversee or directly administer out-of-court disposals such as simple cautions. There has been considerable public concern about the police’s use of these disposals, which now account for 20% of all criminal cases, including their use in response to very serious offences such as rape. The report calls for a massive expansion in the size of the magistracy to help meet the requirements of these expanded roles. Currently there are 23,000 magistrates and they preside over 90% of all criminal cases in England and Wales, although applications to join the magistracy have dramatically decreased in recent years.

The paper highlights the huge financial pressures faced by Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service, which must cut its budget by 37.8% between 2012 and 2016. It says that the Ministry of Justice will inevitably focus on reducing the size of the court estate to meet this challenge. With 230 magistrates’ courts in England and Wales, compared to just 180 NHS Accident and Emergency Departments, the paper concludes that there is significant scope to re-alter the size of the estate, but that the government must take concrete steps to protect the local justice infrastructure and the functioning of the lay magistracy, which has existed for over 650 years.

The report recommends:

The recruitment of 10,000 new magistrates, taking overall numbers to 33,000: They would sit in police stations and other community buildings, oversee out-of-court disposals, review offenders’ sentences on an on-going basis, and spend a third of their volunteering time undertaking community engagement work.
A more diverse magistracy: courts sitting during evenings and weekends will encourage younger, professional people to apply, but more action is needed. Instead of automatic retirement at 70, a new ‘tenure period’ for magistrates of 10 years should be implemented, creating greater turnover – and polices should be enacted to specifically target younger and more ethnically diverse recruits.
Greater court innovation: The Ministry of Justice, the Judicial College and the Magistrates’ Association should devise a new training package for 500 or so ‘problem solving’ magistrates and judges, specialising in dealing with people with drug and alcohol addiction.
The creation of new ‘Justice Hubs’: Court buildings currently house an average of six courtrooms. As the overall footprint of the court estate is reduced, the report recommends the creation of much larger courthouses, containing around 50 courtrooms. Newly-built or converted ‘Justice Hubs’, located to serve major population areas and co-located with other justice agencies, would accommodate different criminal courts (e.g. magistrates and Crown Courts), civil courts and tribunals under the same roof, as well as housing the full range of justice services and custody facilities.”

To read the whole report go to http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/publications/category/item/future-courts-a-new-vision-for-summary-justice

Written by lwtmp

March 3, 2014 at 11:11 am

Posted in Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Tagged with , ,

Early guilty pleas: national scheme.

leave a comment »

In July 2012, I noted developments relating to the encouragement of early guilty pleas. At that stage, a scheme had been rolled out in the magistrates’ courts and a crown court scheme was being trialled in London.

The crown court scheme has now been rolled out nationally.

The official view of the scheme is:

“The principle of the Early Guilty Plea Scheme is to identify those cases where a defendant is likely to plead guilty and to expedite those cases to an early guilty plea hearing….The Early Guilty Plea Scheme acknowledges that around three quarters of Crown Court cases plead guilty on the day of trial and is designed to encourage the guilty plea where appropriate to be entered at an earlier opportunity to prevent delaying justice unnecessarily.
The Early Guilty Plea Scheme allows the defence and CPS to identify those cases likely to plead guilty and offers a credit on sentence for the defendant where they plead guilty at the Early Guilty Plea Hearing. The Scheme encourages discussion between the CPS and defence practitioners before the Early Guilty Plea Hearing takes place where any issues such as basis of plea can be agreed. This discussion can be undertaken using secure email as a way of ensuring that the CPS are able to respond quickly to any queries. This ensures that all parties are ready for the Early Guilty Plea Hearing where, providing the National Offender Management Service have a pre-sentence report, sentencing can occur at the Early Guilty Plea Hearing avoiding additional hearings for sentence.
One of the benefits of the Scheme for defence practitioners is to enable them to secure maximum credit on sentence for their clients and reducing the number of hearings that they are required to attend. This also relieves the stress and anxiety felt by victims, witnesses and defendants whose case is finalised more quickly.”

As noted in the book the practical advantages of the scheme  – in terms of saving resources, and improving efficiency – are to a degree at odds with the ‘due process’ model of criminal justice. Do you think the correct balance has been achieved?

For more information see

http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/newslatest-updates/crime-news/early-guilty-plea-scheme

Written by lwtmp

October 18, 2013 at 11:09 am

Posted in Chapter 5

Tagged with , ,

Newer Entries »