Yesterday, there was a major change in the criminal justice system that’s largely sneaked under the radar: the doubling of magistrates’ court sentencing powers. What does that actually mean, and is it good or bad?
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JP here. In the brief period we had extended sentencing powers, I believe it was used once on a bench I sat on, for a DV case of common assault. It wasn't the norm. I'm ambivalent about it; at allocation recently, we sent cases we could have accepted to CC. And we hear you on length of remands.
Magistrates’ courts sentence the vast majority of criminal cases in England & Wales — all but the most serious. They don't have a jury: instead, 3 magistrates or 1 district judge decide on defendant's guilt and sentence. Most offenders get a fine or community order, but some get sent to prison.
Previously, the longest mags courts could send someone to prison for was 6 months for a single offence and a year for 2+ offences. Now, the max sentence for one offence has been increased to a year, the same as for 2+ offences.
Why? So they can handle more serious offences. The most serious crimes are handled by the Crown Court, which has a massive and ballooning backlog, with cases currently being listed for 2027 or even 2028(!). People are waiting months or years for a trial - many of them in prison already.
This is terrible for justice, victims & defendants, & puts extreme pressure on prisons which hold most remand prisoners. All prisons are v short on spaces, but it's worst in remand prisons. The gov hopes that if mags courts can hear more cases, this will ease cut backlog & pressure on remand prisons
Lots of people aren't convinced about this. Common view is that mags courts give more/longer prison sentences than Crown Court for equivalent offences, increasing pressure on prison population. Unfortunately, there's no data on this! But it does mean the measure could backfire.
Imo the Crown Court backlog is so dire it's worth trying. We've never had this many people on remand, and waits for trial/sentencing are extreme. 30% of people on remand don't get a prison sentence: they're either acquitted or get a diff sentence. Keeping them in prison this long is a real injustice
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