Criminal justice in ‘state of national emergency', Lord Hermer told
Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the prosecution service, wrote to the Attorney General saying that far-reaching proposals to scrap jury trials for thousands of defendants would take time to introduce, and radical solutions were needed right away.
'The criminal justice system is in a state of national emergency and delays are unsustainable,' said Mr Rogers, who is the watchdog for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and reports to Lord Hermer.
He backed the proposals made in the independent review by Sir Brian Leveson, the former appeal court judge, to scale back jury trials.
But Mr Rogers warned: 'They will take time to implement and will not address the immediate issue as backlogs continue to increase daily as more cases are received than finalised.'
Crown court backlogs have hit a record 76,000 cases, with some current victims told they will have to wait until 2029 before their perpetrator is brought to trial.
The Telegraph understands that Mr Rogers is proposing that senior judges should give priority to the most serious cases when listing them for trial in crown courts.
This is likely to entail new fast-track lists, running in parallel to cases that are taking as long as four years to come to trial.
Mr Rogers warned those in the legal profession opposed to the removal of jury trials risked extending the crisis in the courts.
'Calls from the legal profession to maintain the status quo and throw more money at the problem are unhelpful. It does nothing to solve the serious issues at hand,' he said.
'Everyone needs to recognise that if we don't move to act now all will be lost. Holding on to long established principles and resisting change and innovation will further diminish the system that so many rely on.
'The world is a far different place post austerity and Covid, and all actors in the criminal justice system – from Government and judiciary to the Bar – need to implement radical solutions today, or our great legal system will no longer be the envy of the world.'
Defendants to lose right to jury trial
In his report, Sir Brian proposed that suspected sex offenders and drug dealers should be among thousands of defendants stripped of the right to a jury trial.
Under plans for a 'once in a generation' reform of the courts, his review recommended that defendants accused of 220 offences should no longer have an automatic right to be tried by a jury of their peers.
Sir Brian said restricting the historical right to a jury trial – which has its origins in the 1215 Magna Carta – was necessary because criminal justice was 'too broken' and a 'radical and essential package of measures to prevent total collapse of the system' was required.
He said ditching juries would mean simpler, speedier and cheaper justice, saving the equivalent of 9,000 court sitting days a year. His report comes as the backlog of Crown Court cases has risen to a record 77,000, with trials delayed as far ahead as 2029.
In his annual report, the chief inspector said inspections of the CPS had revealed a 'concerning level' of geographical variation.
Further work was being done in the hope of finding why the quality of decision-making was significantly worse in some parts of England and Wales than in others.
However, Mr Rogers welcomed Lord Hermer securing £39m to help the Serious Fraud Office recruit staff to deal effectively with the prosecutor's disclosure obligations.
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