Issue 358  10th August 2024

More than 150 of the people arrested in connection with this month’s violent disorder have already faced their day in court, data released today (9 August 2024) has revealed. The rapid action taken across the justice system by police, prosecutors and those working in courts has led to 118 of those individuals being remanded into custody in a collective effort to keep communities safe and free from further violence. More than 500 prison places are also being brought online to boost capacity over the coming weeks and ensure there are cells ready to receive all those sent to custody by the courts. 

The data released today shows that as of yesterday (8 August 2024):

• 176 defendants had a first hearing scheduled in the magistrates’ court and 154 have already taken place 
• 6 were sentenced in the magistrates’ court 
• 50 have been sent to Crown Court for sentencing 
• 72 have been sent to Crown Court for trial  
• 26 cases will have another hearing in the magistrates’ court 

All these numbers will increase over the coming days and weeks as more and more suspects are arrested, charged and sent to court. 

The Crown Prosecution Service has pledged to deploy extra lawyers to deal with the expected flood of cases after a weekend of violence in cities across the UK. Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said he has directed CPS lawyers to make immediate charging decisions where evidence is in place and pledged that staff will be ‘working around the clock’ to ensure law and order is maintained... Disorder has been reported over the weekend in Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Blackpool, in England, and Belfast. Rioters have attempted to set fire to two hotels where asylum seekers were believed to be staying. It is reported that more than 150 people have been arrested since Saturday.

The Ministry of Justice indicated over the weekend that courts could sit for 24 hours to deal with the fallout from the violence, with ministers meeting with senior members of the judiciary yesterday for emergency talks. The Additional Courts Protocol, previously used following the 2011 London riots, allows courts to operate for longer hours with the agreement of the judiciary. Any request for additional court sessions - extended hours, overnight and/or additional weekend courts - must be made with the express agreement of the relevant chief officer of police and chief Crown prosecutor. It is understood that extended court hours are still regarded as just one option for now, with current capacity able to deal with the numbers of defendants likely to appear after recent days. But the MoJ stresses that deployment of the protocol would be a judicial decision rather than one taken by government...

Criminal defence solicitors do not have the capacity or resources to support 24-hour courts, the chair of a practitioner group has told the Ministry of Justice in response to reports that the additional courts protocol could be activated to deal with cases arising from the current wave of riots sweeping the country... The government signalled over the weekend that overnight courts could be set up to deal with cases arising from the riots.

However, Daniel Bonich, chair of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, has told the Ministry of Justice in an open letter that he is disappointed no one has spoken to practitioner groups representing criminal law practitioners. Noting that the additional courts protocol was activated for the London riots in 2011, Bonich said: ‘[This] is not 2011. Since 2011 more than a third of criminal legal aid solicitors have left the profession and a third of firms have closed. Legal aid rates have fallen by more than 30% in real terms at a time when the cost of living, and the costs of running a business have ballooned. Firms have neither the capacity nor the resources to help staff 24-hour court sessions, even in the short term. They cannot afford to operate in shift patterns which means solicitors to work 24 hours, on top of their 24-hour police station duty which, in the case of employees, would cause contract and employment law issues as well as seriously impacting on family life and their mental health wellbeing. Our members are an ageing profession, many already working every hour under the sun. We cannot take any more. Our members are not willing or able to prop up a failing system. We will be making it clear to our members that they should think carefully before putting themselves and their firms at further risk by stepping into the breach once more.’

Ministers are preparing an additional 500 prison places to cope with an influx of people expected to be held on remand over the next month, the Ministry of Justice said on Monday. From next week, cells will be used at the newly repurposed HMP Cookham Wood, a former young offender institution in the village of Borstal in Kent, that was closed in March after it was called “inhumane” by a prison watchdog. Officials will also accelerate fire safety work on abandoned cells across the estate, and open a new housing block at HMP Stocken in Rutland, East Midlands.

More than 400 people have been arrested so far since far-right unrest erupted in several locations after the killing of three young girls in Southport last Monday. The need for extra cells for rioters comes amid an overcrowding crisis. Last month, there were 87,500 prisoners in England and Wales, with just 700 free places in the men’s estate...