CRIMINALS GETTING AWAY WITH IT

CRIMINALS “RUBBING THEIR HANDS WITH GLEE” AS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE PUNISHED FOR CRIMES HITS A RECORD LOW

THE number of criminals being dealt with by the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales has dropped to a record low. That’s despite a rapid rise in the number of crimes recorded by police in recent years. Government figures reveal 1.6 million people were prosecuted, cautioned, given another notice or offered a ‘community resolution’ in the year to

March 2019.

That was down 2% from the year before.

It was also nearly 255,000 fewer people than in 2015 (when comparable records began).

While fewer people were dealt with by the criminal justice system, police across England and Wales recorded an 8% rise in crimes to 5.9 million during the past year.

The difference becomes even more stark when looking only at people charged or summonsed.

That figure fell almost 8% in the last year.

Richard Atkins QC, chair of the Bar

Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, said: “Criminals up and down the country will be rubbing their hands with glee knowing that even if their crimes are detected and they are caught by the police, the chances of them being prosecuted or jailed are slim.

“These statistics make for grim reading, however, the state of the criminal justice system is far worse than the figures show.

“If crime is not detected, it cannot be recorded, investigated or prosecuted, so the official figures are just the tip of an iceberg.

“The Bar Council, MPs, senior judges and others have been calling out for reversal of the draconian cuts to the justice budget - the steepest cuts to any public service.

“Our democracy, society and our economy depend on a properly functioning, fair, justice system, that the public can have faith in.

“Sadly we fear that this is no longer the case.”

Home Office statistics reveal the number of cases dropped by police due to evidential difficulties has risen in recent years (from 8% in the year to March 2015 to 10% in the year to March 2019).

David Greene, Vice President of the

Law Society of England and Wales, said: “These statistics come as no surprise: our criminal justice system is at breaking point.

“It is a consequence of years of underfunding for the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), courts and defence lawyers.

“Criminal legal aid fees have not increased since the 1990s.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “We are doing more to restore public confidence in the justice system - investing in police and prison places, and reviewing sentencing to make sure violent and sexual offenders are properly punished.”