Ignore the fearmongering, our plan for juries focuses on the victims
4 min read
Being in government isn't about easy decisions. It's about difficult but necessary decisions taken in the national interest.
The Crown Court backlog currently sits at over 78,000 cases, and could reach over 100,000 by 2028.
Behind every single one of those cases is justice put on hold. A family left reeling from a burglary. A teenager recovering from assault. A survivor of sexual assault who has waited years for her day in court.
To govern is to choose. Do we choose to accept this, or is there more we can do to fix the problem?
This is the choice behind the government’s recently announced criminal justice reforms following Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review into the Criminal Courts.
As with the announcement of any major change, there will always be healthy debate. But proposals in relation to either-way offences have attracted a huge amount of misconception and misunderstanding.
We are not scrapping jury trials. As it stands, only 3 per cent of all criminal cases are heard by a judge and jury, with 90 per cent dealt with by Magistrates. Either-way offences are those that can either be heard by a Magistrate or by a jury in the Crown Court. For these offences, the plan is to create a new Bench Division. Under the government’s proposals, almost three-quarters of all trials going to the Crown Court will continue to be heard by juries.
While we are rightly proud of our legal traditions, it is also untrue to suggest the lack of jury trials is something unique to despotic regimes.
In fact, Sweden – currently placed at number one in the World Justice Project global rankings – is a country that doesn’t use jury trials at all. Norway, ranked number three, also doesn’t. In Germany and the Netherlands, the situation is the same. In France, Denmark and Canada, only the most serious cases are heard by juries.
As a barrister, I saw what 14 years of austerity did to the justice system. And it does make a difference that this government is investing more, but we cannot spend our way out of this crisis. These reforms are just one part of the government’s broader plan to cut the backlog. An additional £450m per year is earmarked for the courts system over the Spending Review period to help fund a record amount of Crown Court sitting days.
Efficiency measures are also being rolled out, with more coming after the next stage of Leveson’s Review.
With that said, as Sir Brian has made abundantly clear, the system in its current form cannot stop the backlog from growing.
With more police officers across the country, more arrests are being made. With more digital evidence being presented in court, trials are becoming more complex. This all means juries are spending longer and longer on cases.
And some defendants are now exploiting the backlog to game the system. In 2014, only eight per cent of those on trial for an either-way offence elected for a jury trial. By 2022, this had more than doubled. People realise the delays are so long that, if they opt for a jury trial, there is a high likelihood the case will collapse before reaching court.
Something has to change. Without action, these factors will continue to compound. The backlog will grow. Victims will remain without justice. Trust in the system will continue to be eroded.
Leadership isn’t about easy answers. In this situation, there is no easy way out. As a government, we have chosen a path shaped by responsible and necessary decisions.
A path pointed towards justice for victims across the country, so they have a criminal justice system that once again works, and one the British people can have faith in once again.
Catherine Atkinson is the Labour MP for Derby North.
