Lord chief Justice criticises court penalties for serious crimes

The current trend in out of court penalties for serious crimes, sometimes including rape, has been criticised by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Judge. 

Following the announcement of a review of the use of fines and cautions by the Ministry of Justice, Lord Judge, in his first report   since becoming Head of the Judiciary said: 

‘’for some time I have been troubled by the increased use of fixed penalties notices, cautions and conditional cautions in cases that should have been brought before the courts’’

He also warned that budget cuts meant that the Courts could not ‘’dispense justice in a manner which society expects’’.

A Ministry of Justice Spokesman said:  Existing legislation and guidance on the use of out of court disposals are clear and that they should not be used for serious or persistent offenders.

However, a study by Scotland Yard suggested as many as 400,000 offenders dealt with out of court disposals would have been better dealt with by the courts.

Posted 05.02.10