Covid cases clog courts as rape victims await justice
BACKLOGGED courts are dealing with thousands of minor Covid prosecutions while victims of more serious crimes are forced to wait years for justice.
A Mail on Sunday analysis has found almost 4,000 magistrates’ court listings over the past six months for breaches of coronavirus restrictions, including some for leaving the house.
A 42-year-old from Bradford was last week listed to appear in court for allegedly meeting with more than two people inside a property in February last year. And a 22-year-old man from Reading is due to appear in court on Tuesday for allegedly failing to self-isolate at home after arriving in the UK from Turkey.
Meanwhile, a 52-year-old man from Blackpool was last week cleared after police issued him with a fine for failing to ensure that his son remained indoors during lockdown.
Commenting on the backlog of Covid cases, former police officer Harry Miller, of the Fair Cop campaign group, said: ‘It’s utterly ridiculous and a total waste of time. The purpose of these fines was a tool for encouraging pointless state obedience, nothing more.’
The figures come as some rape victims are waiting up to four years for justice, and burglary cases are taking more than two years to come to court.
In the year before the pandemic, the number of cases waiting to be heard by crown courts rose by 23 per cent to 41,045. After coronavirus it now stands at more than 57,000. For less serious offences due to go before magistrates, the number of outstanding cases now stands at 364,000.
At least 118,000 fixed-penalty notices were issued under coronavirus legislation by July last year. Some 51,000 are unpaid, making them potentially a matter for the courts.
Campaigners and some lawyers argue that Covid fines should be overturned en masse following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Partygate fine and his defence that he was unaware he was breaking the rules. A number of gym owners have already overturned fines after they refused to close during lockdowns.
Police are still taking action against alleged rule-breakers, and last week it emerged that six people are being prosecuted for not paying fines imposed when they attended a vigil for Sarah Everard in March last year. Sarah was raped and murdered by Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, who is now serving a life sentence.
The Ministry of Justice said: ‘Magistrates’ courts handle more than a million cases a year, of which Covid fines account for a tiny fraction. Thanks to our reforms, more cases can be handled by magistrates’ courts, where the backlog has fallen substantially since last year.’