By Dominic Casciani
Ms Casey was appointed Victims’ Commissioner in March The right to trial by jury for many lesser offences should be ended in England and Wales, the Commissioner for Victims of Crime has proposed.
Louise Casey said almost 70,000 crown court cases each year could be heard in magistrates’ courts, saving at least £30m in prosecution costs.
Ms Casey said the move would benefit victims of serious crime who suffer due to delays in “clogged up” crown courts.
It comes as the Ministry of Justice cuts the budget for courts and prisons.
Ms Casey said a jury trial should not be viewed as right for crimes known as “either way” offences, which can be heard in magistrates or sent to trial in crown court.
“We should not view the right to a jury trial as being so sacrosanct that its exercise should be at the cost of victims of serious crimes,” Ms Casey said.
“It is known that waiting for a criminal trial often means that victims put their lives on hold; bereaved families of murder victims cannot grieve until the trial is over,” she said.
“Defendants should not have the right to choose to be tried by a jury over something such as the theft of a bicycle or stealing from a parking meter.”
Sentencing increases?
Eight out of 10 of these cases are dealt with by magistrates. But the lower court sends 60,000 of them to crown court every year with a further 9,000 defendants also asking for jury trial.
Ms Casey, who took up her role in March, said the figures showed that very often this was a massive waste of time and money and trials of serious crimes were being “stacked up waiting for court time”.
“We need to stop the abuse of the process which allows defendants and their solicitors to string out a case at the expense of victims”
Louise Casey Victims’ Commissioner
In 50,000 of the cases sent to crown courts, defendants eventually plead guilty, wasting £15m of the Crown Prosecution Services money, she said.
She added that if just half of either-way cases remained in the lower courts, some £30m would be saved straight away.
Cases that should remain firmly in magistrates’ courts include petty theft, she said, highlighting one newspaper report of the pilfering of tea and biscuits.
If defendants are holding out to see if witnesses turn up, that is not justice, she added.
“It is an abuse of the system, and puts an intolerable pressure on victims and witnesses that could be called a form of witness intimidation.
“We need to stop the abuse of the process which allows defendants and their solicitors to string out a case at the expense of victims and the public.”
She said she had full confidence in magistrates to properly dispense justice.
Ms Casey also backed calls for magistrates’ sentencing powers to be doubled from six months to one year per offence, so they can avoid referring more borderline cases to the crown court.
In a separate report, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary estimated that better management of prosecution casework could save £40m a year alone.
It said it found an example of a shoplifter who was caught by police and sentenced in court two hours later. But it also said that it can take 1,000 steps to deal with a simple domestic burglary.
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