Justice cut to the bone

To The Independent

I recently resigned as a magistrate after 11 years of voluntary public service. I have become disillusioned with the damage being done to our criminal justice system (CJS) by the policy of austerity since 2010. I have resigned because the system is in crisis and has become unfit for purpose.

We have seen dramatic reductions in recent years in police numbers, in legal aid available in magistrates court proceedings, in legal advisers, in probation services (along with a disastrous partial privatisation), and in the prison service. We should all be aware that these cutbacks have had a seriously damaging impact on those affected by the CJS.

Now that a general election is pending, our esteemed politicians are making all sorts of promises to address the problems they have caused.

Recent Home Office figures show the scale of the problem, with recorded crime on the rise whilst the number of prosecutions is falling, and the proportion of solved recorded crimes has dropped. To provide just one terrifying example, in 2015, 14% of rapes recorded by police in England and Wales led to a criminal charge – by 2018, it was less than 2%. Large reductions apply to other categories of offences too, such as violence against the person and robbery.

Unfortunately, the administration of justice has always been a low priority for governments of all shades. Patently it is an insignificant priority compared to the latest popular initiative and the demands of austerity, and one suspects that governments take the view that it doesn’t garner many votes. But when the CJS collapses to its current low ebb, one hopes that it will have an impact on the opinions and concerns of our fellow citizens. It is an uncivilised society that fails to ensure that it has a properly functioning CJS that provides fair and equal treatment for all.

Gareth Hopkins, Buckinghamshire