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A free weekly collection of criminal law links - for practitioners, law students, and anyone with an interest in the criminal justice system of England and Wales.
Curated by Sam Willis, a barrister at 5 King's Bench Walk.
News
Independent Review of the Criminal Courts
Victims of crimes will see the perpetrators face justice more quickly under a once-in-a-generation review of criminal courts, the Lord Chancellor announced today (12 December)... As newly released statistics show the Crown Court backlog has reached a record high, the review will look at what more can be done to make sure criminals have their day in court, without delay, get the punishment they deserve, and keep our streets safe.
The review – led by Sir Brian Leveson – will consider the case for new “intermediate courts” where cases too serious for magistrates’ courts but not serious enough for the Crown Court could be heard by a judge, flanked by magistrates.
Sir Brian will also be asked to consider whether Magistrates should be empowered to look at more cases, freeing up capacity in the Crown Court to consider the more complex, serious crimes. By reclassifying some offences and extending magistrates’ sentencing powers, certain trials could move to magistrates’ courts. This would build on the decision to allow magistrates to hand out custodial sentences for up to 12 months announced earlier in the year.
It will also look at where technology can be used to drive efficiencies and improve how the Crown Court functions.
'Abandon some jury trials or fund crisis-hit system, former chief justice says'
Ministers should consider abandoning jury trials for some crown court cases unless they properly fund a justice system “in serious crisis”, the former lord chief justice has said. Lord Thomas said there had been a “political failure” by successive governments to invest in justice or make the difficult decisions needed to protect it. The crown court backlog in England and Wales will hit 100,000 without radical action, and record delays mean that new trials are routinely being fixed for 2027. The situation is putting victims of crime through agonising waits for justice, while the accused wait years – sometimes in prison – for trial. “You have to accept that if you want to keep the jury trial, you have to pay for it,” Thomas said. “It’s a choice, and a choice politicians are very reluctant to make. Do you make a major reform, or do you provide more money?”...
Thomas, who was head of the judiciary in England and Wales from 2013 to 2017, suggested that less serious crown court cases may have to be decided by a judge or magistrates to save money. An “intermediate” court – between magistrates and crown courts – for moderately serious cases might be a solution if politicians were not prepared to invest the necessary resources to reduce the crown courts backlog, he said. “Is it right we should have jury trials for all these cases, or should we have this intermediate court staffed by a district judge and two magistrates?” he asked. The idea was proposed in 2001 by the former appeal court judge Sir Robin Auld but was not properly considered, Thomas said...
'Thousands of new prison places to be built to keep streets safe'
Fourteen thousand new prison places, with a target to open by 2031, form part of a 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy to make sure we always have the spaces needed to keep the public safe. Part of the government’s Plan for Change, and its mission to make our streets safe, 4 new prisons will be built in the next 7 years, opening up around 6,500 places to lock up dangerous criminals. Under the 10-year prison capacity strategy, unveiled by the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood today (11 December), a further 6,400 places will be built in new blocks on current sites, 1,000 rapid deployment cells will be rolled out and over 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished. £2.3 billion will be invested to back this prison build, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.
The strategy out today also reveals the scale of the problem this government is facing, after capacity of the prison estate increased by less than 500 places in the 14 years to April 2024. To get shovels into the ground fast, changes to planning rules will see prisons deemed as sites of national importance, reflecting their critical importance to public protection. This will put an end to lengthy delays in the planning process which are stopping new prisons from being built as quickly as needed. The government will also get ahead of demand with an ambition to acquire new land for potential future prisons if needed and to make sure the supply always keeps up with demand...
'Shabana Mahmood: Prison space may run out despite plans to expand'
The justice secretary has said even under the government's plans to open 14,000 more prison places, they could still run out of space over the next few years. Shabana Mahmood told the BBC that "building alone is not enough" to deal with the critical lack of space in UK jails. The government is publishing its 10-year strategy to deal with overcrowding in prisons - including more details of how it will create 14,000 more places in England and Wales by 2031.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the government should not be reaching for the "easy lever" of early release, urging the government to instead pursue alternative measures, such as longer sitting hours in the courts.
It comes after prisons were just 100 spaces away from reaching full capacity over the summer. The government released thousands of inmates early in order to free up space - with more than 1,700 let out in England and Wales in September, and then another 1,200 in October. Under its new prisons strategy - which it is calling a "Plan for Change" - the government will build four new prisons over the next seven years, creating 6,400 new places...
'Police chiefs warn of possible cuts to officer numbers amid budget shortfalls'
Two police chiefs have warned that they face having to cut the number of officers in their forces if shortfalls in their budgets are not addressed. The Metropolitan Police faces a £450 million budget shortfall next year meaning that 2,300 officers and 400 staff could have to be cut, while Essex Police faces a £34 million shortfall which could mean a reduction of 200 officers.
Ben-Julian Harrington, Chief Constable of Essex Police, said: “To put it bluntly, the books don’t balance. My budget gap for next year is about £34 million.” He said the “vast majority of that comes from pay progression, it comes from increased salary costs of the officers and the staff”...
Meanwhile, in a report submitted to the London Policing Board, Sir Mark Rowley said that the Met faces a £450 million budget shortfall in 2025/26, meaning that 2,300 officers and 400 staff could have to be cut. The Met is able to make £100 million in savings, but the Commissioner’s report said: “The financial constraints we face in 2025/26 mean we will be forced to take tough choices to reduce the service we offer Londoners.” Cuts, which may start as soon as January, could affect teams including those that target violence and organised crime such as the Flying Squad; dogs and the mounted branch; intelligence teams, the forensic services and Royal Parks police...
'Post Office Horizon scandal: No Trials before 2027, say police'
Police investigating crimes linked to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal are looking at "dozens" of potential suspects, but don't expect trials to begin until 2027. Police are investigating possible crimes by Post Office and Fujitsu employees and external lawyers, following the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters after faulty Horizon software said money was missing from their Post Office branch accounts. Three suspects have already been interviewed under caution and there are plans to interview others next year, according to police. But no one will be charged until officers have read the final report from the separate public inquiry, almost 30 years after concerns were first raised...
Some 100 officers from around England and Wales are now working on what they've called Operation Olympos, which began in 2020. The investigation will be led by the Metropolitan Police in London, while Police Scotland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and National Crime Agency are also involved. Commander Stephen Clayman said the scale of the investigation was "unprecedented"... The first phase of the investigation will focus on those making "key decisions" on investigations and prosecutions, looking at possible offences of perjury and the serious offence of perverting the course of justice. A second phase will cast the net wider, potentially taking in senior post office executives. Work is already underway on building some of the cases, and police are in regular dialogue with the Crown Prosecution Service...
Cases
R v Cashman [2024] EWCA Crim 1543
... The facts of this case are well known. The applicant was convicted on the basis that he pursued and attempted to murder Joseph Nee, and that in the course of his pursuit he shot through the front door of a house in Kingsheath Avenue, Liverpool, killing Olivia Pratt Korbell aged 9, and injuring her mother Mrs Cheryl Korbell. He carried two firearms and he also injured Joseph Nee...
... The applications are based upon a suggestion that jury irregularities may have affected the outcome of the trial...
... Firstly, the conditions under which this “information” was supposedly obtained and then passed on make it inherently improbable from the start... Next, none of these individuals have been identified or allowed themselves to be identified... Then there is the inherent improbability of what it is claimed took place. Is it feasible to think that the jury were given personal panic alarms by police officers without that fact coming to the notice of court staff and thus to the judge?... It seems inconceivable that 12 jurors would have been supplied with either kind of device, were told it was a secret, and thus that they were not to reveal what had happened; and then all twelve complied, suppressing any mention of the supply or fitting of the alarms... Perhaps even more incredible is the proposition that police officers were able to gain illicit access to the jury retiring room, show them the bundle of prejudicial material, and remove the material again, all without detection. We find it impossible to conceive how such a visit would have gone undetected by court staff as it happened. We are also unable to accept the suggestion that all twelve jurors who were visited in that way and presented with material which was not evidence in the case, breached the obligations so sternly expressed to them in the Jury Notice and failed to bring that to the attention of court staff or the judge...
Indeed it can fairly be said that the story advanced is fanciful, and as matters now stand, is suggestive not of a possible miscarriage of justice, but rather of a crude attempt to subvert convictions properly reached...
Other
Guidance on Independent Review of the Criminal Courts
Former President of the Queen's Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, has been appointed to carry out an independent review into the criminal courts...
The purpose of this review is to produce options and recommendations for a) how the criminal courts could be reformed to ensure cases are dealt with proportionately, in light of the current pressures on the Crown Court; and b) how they could operate as efficiently as possible...
The review should consider:
Longer-term options for criminal court reform, with the aim of reducing demand on the Crown Court by retaining more cases in the lower courts. This could include:
- The reclassification of offences from triable-either-way to summary only.
- Consideration of magistrates’ sentencing powers.
- The introduction of an Intermediate Court.
- Any other structural changes to the courts or changes to mode of trial that will ensure the most proportionate use of resource.
The efficiency and timeliness of processes through charge to conviction/acquittal. This should include:
- Consideration of how processes through charge to conviction/acquittal could be improved to maximise efficiency. This includes looking at the processes of the courts but also those of partner agencies in the criminal justice system which affect the efficiency of the criminal courts.
- Consideration of how effectively previous recommendations – including those contained within the 2015 review Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings – have been implemented and if more could be done for these to successfully increase efficiency within the criminal courts.
- Consideration of previous recommendations within the current context of challenges facing the criminal courts, and how these might be updated or built upon.
- Consideration of how new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, could be used to improve the criminal courts...
Gauke - Intensive Supervision Courts
Specialist courts focused on breaking the addictions of prolific offenders are “efficient” and “a good idea”, the head of the government’s sentencing review has said as he suggested they could be rolled out across England and Wales. In an interview with the Guardian, David Gauke praised “very encouraging” pilots of intensive supervision courts which steer recidivists to engage repeatedly with judges, probation officers and drug counsellors. His words are the first major indication of Gauke’s direction as he draws up plans to rip up the current norm of sending criminals to prison without addressing the causes behind the crimes. His proposals will be presented to ministers in the spring...
Gauke, who served as Conservative justice secretary under Theresa May, visited the intensive supervision court (ISC) for female offenders in Birmingham on Thursday, one of three pilots across England and Wales. Offenders are asked to return regularly to the court to check they are abiding by the requirements of their community sentence. Probation officers, staff from a women’s centre and members of a mental health team are also on hand to discuss the offenders and their progress, he said. “The test of course, is, does this succeed? Does this help reduce reoffending? Does it allow the women to reintegrate into society? It is a relatively early stage, but I think the signs are very encouraging,” Gauke said. “We were definitely interested in this in the context of hyper-prolific offenders, not just women. The process was pretty efficient in terms of getting through a lot of business very quickly, because you have got the people there. There is clearly a very strong argument for it.” He plans to discuss ISCs with the Treasury, he said, adding that he will first draw up a cost-benefit analysis before making any formal recommendation...