Justice Undermined
August 18, 2009
Posted by:Jonathan Wheeler
John Thornhill, chairman of the Magistrates' Association expresses concern today that many serious offences, such as rape, are being dealt with by the police by way of a caution, as opposed to going to trial. Rape and abuse cases are difficult to prosecute as it is often one person's word against another's. But the alarming revelation that less and less cases are being brought before the courts - 48% in 2007 compared with 68% in 2003 - is apparently a symptom of the police's efforts to reduce paper work. Justice demands that police powers to offer non court solutions for serious offences are curbed, not enhanced.