Prison vans to make use of bus lanes and inmates to attend courtroom by way of video-link below main plan
Former judge Sir Brian Leveson who proposed curbing jury trials has warned critics that “everything” needs to be thrown at the courts system to stop it spiralling out of control
A major review with 130 demands on court efficiencies called for prison vans to use bus lanes(Image: PA)
A former senior judge who proposed curbing jury trials has warned critics that “everything” needs to be thrown at the courts system to stop it spiralling out of control.
Sir Brian Leveson branded projections that the courts backlog will hit 100,000 by 2027 as “unacceptable”.
In the second part of his courts review, published today, he recommended the Prime Minister oversee the courts crisis in a radical shake-up of the system. It comes as the government faces a major rebellion over plans to limit jury trials to defendants facing jail sentences of three years or more.
Sir Brian warned opposing MPs that landmark changes were needed, telling reporters: “If not this, then what? Because I do not believe that efficiency and money solve this problem.”
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The second part of his review makes more than 130 recommendations to make the courts system more efficient. He said a new post of Prime Minister’s criminal justice adviser should be created to sit at the heart of Government and oversee the work of courts, prisons, prosecutors and police.
His calls also include police spending less time redacting files for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the greater use of artificial intelligence within the system and an expansion of remote video-link hearings.
He also suggested many convicted criminals could be sentenced over a video-link from jail, as well as allowing prison transport vans to start using bus lanes to get to court on time.
“Delays delivering defendants to court due to traffic congestion is one of the many reasons why defendants are arriving late for court, particularly for Crown Courts, many of which are in urban areas,” Sir Brian wrote.
“At present, there are various restrictions on the use of bus lanes in urban areas. Being able to utilise bus lanes would help to address the journey delays caused due to traffic congestion, therefore ensuring more defendants arriving at court on time and thus reducing both the need for adjournments and the number of ineffective hearings.”
Sir Brian urged ministers and criminal justice agencies to “get on with it” and said some of his recommendations could be acted upon immediately.
He added: “The police can pick out bits immediately. The CPS can pick up bits immediately. The court, the judiciary can pick up bits immediately. Do I want them to? Yes, I do.” He also said a new adviser to the PM could be appointed immediately. I believe that we need to get on with it,” he added. “We have got to throw everything at this problem now.”
The backlog of cases in the Crown Courts of England and Wales has now reached around 80,000, with some trials being set for 2030.
In response to Sir Brian’s new report, Justice Secretary David Lammy said: “Efficiencies alone are not a silver bullet, but making the system more efficient and saving time across the board is a vital part of a wider package to tackle the problem of victims suffering for years for their cases to be heard.”
Richard Atkinson, of the Law Society, said: “Anyone pretending the appalling backlogs can be fixed simply by unproven headline-grabbing measures, such as cutting jury trials or transferring cases from one overburdened court (the Crown Court) to another (the Magistrates’ Court), is betraying the public.
“We disagree with some recommendations that may compromise the fairness and safety of the justice system, including providing legal advice by video link to people detained in police stations, and remote first court hearings after arrest where people’s liberty is at stake.”
David Ford, the Magistrates’ Association’s National Chair, said: “There is much to like in Sir Brian’s report. His recommendations on how to make the day-to-day running of the courts more efficient are sensible… However, we are concerned about the recommendation to look at changing the work outside the court room that some magistrates do – for example as appraisers, and their involvement in the induction and training of new magistrates.”
