Magistrates’ sentencing powers to be increased again amid prison overcrowding

Magistrates’ sentencing powers will be doubled again in a bid to cut the court backlog and ease overcrowding in jails.

The move, confirmed by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Thursday, means magistrates will be able to hand down prison sentences of up to a year – twice the length of jail time they are currently permitted to order.

She warned said the courts system could “collapse” if the Government does not address the “acute problem” of remand prisoners facing lengthy waits for sentencing but also admitted the measure would initially “see a slight increase in the overall prison population”.

The body representing magistrates welcomed the plans but barristers have branded it a “knee-jerk reaction” which could make things worse.

Changes to sentencing powers are intended to cut the number of prisoners being held on remand by bringing them to court more quickly and free up 2,000 days of crown court sitting time.

Around a fifth of the prison population are suspects being held on remand, and up to a third could be cleared and released, or will not receive a jail term.

Ms Mahmood told MPs the change would come into force on November 18.

Speaking in the Commons, she said: “I can announce that we will extend magistrates’ sentencing powers back to 12 months’ imprisonment.

“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 triable 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.

“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.”

Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association which has campaigned for the change, described it as a “vital means of ensuring speedier justice for victims”.

While this means magistrates can take on the least serious cases heard by crown courts to “relieve pressure”, he warned the shift is “not problem-free” as he called for long-term investment in the criminal justice system.

“There are serious bottlenecks in magistrates’ courts too, particularly with the lack of availability of legal advisers and probation officers needed to support magistrates, which often leads to delays and cancellations.

“So, to be most effective, this change would need to go together with more court resources. There must be a long-term, sustainable and considered investment in the whole criminal justice system, which we and many others have long called for,” he added.

Ms Mahmood also said she was “very interested” in the role artificial intelligence (AI) can play in “increasing efficiency and productivity” in the courts system.

“There will be more that we must do in the coming weeks, I will return to the House and set out our long-term plan for the justice system, but these new powers for magistrates mark an important step,” she added.

This is the second time in recent years that successive governments have changed sentencing powers for magistrates.

Then-justice secretary Dominic Raab doubled the jail terms that could be handed out by magistrates in 2022, in a bid to reduce the backlog of crown court cases exacerbated by the pandemic. But the scheme was dropped after a year.

Last month 1,700 prisoners were released early on the day a policy was introduced meaning some inmates could walk free after serving 40% of their sentences rather than half.

A further thousand are due to be released on Tuesday when the policy, aimed at easing overcrowding in prisons, is expanded to apply to prisoners serving longer sentences.

Mary Prior KC, chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), said the change in powers will “simply make things worse”, adding: “This is a knee-jerk reaction, done without consulting, once again, the criminal barristers or solicitors who deal every day with these cases. The Government must stop simply tinkering around the edges of a system in the midst of collapse.

“We had hoped that a new Government would be a new start. There is still time for this Government to stop headline grabbing policies and begin the vitally important process of rescuing the criminal justice system.”

The CBA also described the move as a “short term and long term backfire” as it could “sharply increase” the overall prison population within a matter of months.

But Ms Mahmood told the Commons: “By bearing down on the remand population in our reception prisons, we will create capacity where we need it most. This measure allows us to manage our prison population smartly, and it means we can both address our prisons crisis and tackle the courts backlog.”