Magistrates to get extended sentencing powers in 'swift justice' move
Magistrates' sentencing powers will be extended to 12 months imprisonment, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed. In a statement to the Commons, she said: "I can announce that we will extend magistrates' sentencing powers back to 12 months imprisonment.
On the 28th of October I will lay a statutory instrument to that effect, which will come into force on the 18th of November this year. "This change does not increase the maximum sentence for specific offences, nor does it change the length of sentence that a defendant will serve. Instead, it expands which courts can hand down sentences of six to 12 months imprisonment for a single trialable either way offence.
"It will enable the system to make more use of magistrates, who are an integral part of our court system, delivering justice swiftly across the country. This measure will also allow us to begin to address the remand problem in our prisons, but it will do more than that too.
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"This Government inherited a record Crown Court backlog, waits for trials have grown so long that some cases are not heard for years. The impact on victims of crime is profound. For some, justice delayed is as the old saying goes, justice denied, as victims choose to withdraw from the justice process altogether rather than face the pain of a protracted legal battle."
All 37 offenders released in error as part of the Government's early release scheme are back in custody, the Justice Secretary also confirmed. Responding to questions from her Tory counterpart, Ms Mahmood told the Commons: "I can also confirm to him that of the 37 people who were released in error... all are now back in custody."
Shadow justice secretary Edward Argar earlier said: "The changes (Ms Mahmood) has set out today were characterised by the chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Mary Prior KC, quoted in The Guardian, as: 'This is a kneejerk reaction, done without consulting - once again - the criminal barristers or solicitors who deal every day with these cases.'
"Given this, there are a number of questions that are begged about this and the broader criminal justice system given the scope of her statement." In his questions, former justice minister Mr Argar asked about the potential impact on prison places of the changes.
Ms Mahmood, in her reply, said: "We do expect there will be an initial impact on prison places but over time we expect that to come down. We do, of course, have a little bit more space within the prisons because of the action we have taken to stabilise the pressure on prison places."