If magistrates’ jurisdiction could be increased to a 12-month custodial sentence for a single offence, it would ease the burden on crown courts, writes Bev Higgs
The prime minister and the justice secretary have both said that they are anxious to improve the criminal justice system with reference to prosecutions and the time it takes to get offences concerning violence against women and girls to trial (Dominic Raab confuses meaning of misogyny in BBC interview, 6 October).
“Non-priority” cases backlogged in the crown courts are now listing into 2023-24. It is not good enough for victims of crime or defendants to have their lives on hold and to have to relive events in court months or even years after they took place.
