'We Are Witnessing The Slow Motion Collapse Of Our Criminal Justice System,' Labour MP Says
In September of last year, a woman from Gloucestershire abandoned her case in court after the judge adjourned it for a further two years. She had been sexually assaulted by a taxi driver in 2022 and was left in tears when she heard the news.By then, her mother and ex-partner had already given excruciating evidence and testimony. The delay was simply too much to bear. She felt she had no choice but to pull out.In Gloucester Crown Court, there were over 100 sexual offence cases still waiting to be heard as of last year.Is it acceptable that victims are forced to wait like this?As a former lawyer who represented the NHS, I’m well acquainted with waiting lists. But what we are witnessing across our criminal justice system is risking something far more serious. The current backlog stands at nearly 80,000 and could rise to 100,000 by 2028. To put it simply, cases are being added faster than they can be removed.During the pandemic, as the number of Covid-19 cases started to rise exponentially, the system could no longer contain the spread. The only choice left to take was a national lockdown.On the same trajectory, our courts now face irrecoverable breakdown as the numbers continue to increase.This is exactly why Sir Brian Leveson said that – should the broad thrust of his recommendations not be accepted – we risk a collapse of the system as we presently have it.Without bold and necessary reform, public confidence will erode. Victims will stop coming forward. Skilled staff will leave the sector. Crimes will go un-investigated and offenders will be emboldened as the rule of law is cast aside.Like a house of cards, once our court system falls, so too will the institutions around them – our prisons, probation service, and the police. The result would be a slide into chaos, a story with which many countries across the world are already familiar.“Leadership is not about doing what is popular, but doing what is right.”In Brazil, a failure to reform alongside a failure to invest has given rise to more than 80 million pending trials.In Mexico, conviction rates are so low that the rule of law has begun to break down.In Malta, a country now at regular risk of breaching its obligations under Article 6 of the ECHR, nearly half of all homicide cases are left unresolved.Over in the UK, we are also battling systemic pressures. Police-recorded sexual offences are rising. More arrests are being made. Cases of serious fraud are becoming more complex, while defendants are exploiting the backlog to game the system. Digital evidence – from phones, computers and CCTV – make investigations more demanding and trials more protracted.To address these issues, our courts need investment. Which is why this government is investing in them at record levels, with an additional £450 million per year already secured over the Spending Review period.Our courts also need to become more efficient, which is why we are digitising the whole estate and rolling out AI to streamline processes.But the core message of Sir Brian’s Leveson’s Review is that they need fundamental reform, and the Bench Division we are proposing represents exactly that.On a conservative estimate, Sir Brian and his team believe that judge-only trials for either-way offences will be at least 20% faster than juries.History tells us that transformative public sector reforms – like those that the justice secretary is proposing – are always met with resistance.When Nye Bevan founded the NHS, General Practitioners across the country fiercely opposed him.When Harold Wilson created the Open University, he faced widespread scepticism.When Tony Blair sought to carry out vital reforms to our health service in the late 1990s, he faced intense pressure from the BMA. The lesson is simple. Leadership is not about doing what is popular, but doing what is right.What Britain needs is a court system fit for the 21st century and the new challenges it presents.These reforms are the right thing to do, not just for victims, but for the criminal justice system in its totality.To restore trust. To prevent collapse. To uphold the rule of law.That is why I support them.'Lammy Must Ditch Plan To Scrap Jury Trials Or Face Embarrassing Defeat', Warns Senior Labour MPNo, David Lammy Is Not Scrapping All Jury TrialsExclusive: Labour Rebels Believe They Can Defeat Starmer's Plan To Scrap Jury Trials
