Sir Brian Leveson has now published the first part of his independent review of the criminal courts, examining ‘longer-term options for criminal court reform, with the aim of reducing demand on the Crown Court by retaining more cases in the lower courts.’

The report makes 45 recommendations to tackle the current crown court backlog of circa. 73,000 cases. 

Perhaps the most significant recommendation is that the right to jury trial is removed for all offences with a maximum sentence length of less than – or equal to – two years. 

Other recommendations include: 

• increased use of Out of Court Resolutions, which ‘represent a flexible, cost-effective and alternative initiative to court proceedings for low-level offences’
• quicker decision-making around charging, reducing the number of suspects released under investigation for long periods of time

The review, however, acknowledges that even if all recommendations are fully implemented, backlogs are likely to take many years to shift. 

For further details, click here.