The system has been ‘degraded’, ‘starved’, and ‘cut right to the bone’, according to Lord Burnett of Maldon. It is not really a good time for the justice system. Even stalwart supporters in the past have turned into doom-mongers. A case in point is Lord Burnett of Maldon, who until recently was the Lord Chief Justice, the senior judge in England and Wales. Burnett warned that the criminal justice system has become so degraded by budget cuts that it will take years to recover.
Originally published in The Times.
The criminal justice system has become so “degraded” by budget cuts that it will take years to recover, the country’s former top judge has warned.
Lord Burnett of Maldon, who retired as lord chief justice at the end of September, said that the system in England and Wales was “starved” and “cut right to the bone” because of years without budget increases.
Burnett, 66, said rocketing inflation last year had also damaged the system.
Speaking to a podcast from the University of Law, Burnett said that the damage could not be rectified with the “flick of a switch” and required the “continued attention” of ministers.
There have been rising reports of deteriorating court infrastructure, resulting in crumbling ceilings, burst pipes and even rodent infestations.
There are also concerns about legal aid rates for lawyers. Bar leaders warned last month that the rate of pay for rape trials was so low that 64 per cent of barristers authorised to work for the Crown Prosecution Service were considering quitting.
Solicitors’ leaders have recently told ministers that concerns about low pay are also prompting lawyers to desert a scheme that provides legal advice to suspects in police stations.
Burnett, who headed the judiciary for six years until he was replaced by Lady Carr, the first woman to hold the post, told the podcast that pay for crown court advocates and police station representation urgently needed to be resolved.
He said that for the past 18 months the system had been in a position “of having courtrooms available, judges available to do the cases if necessary, but one or other side, prosecution or defence, not being able to produce a lawyer to deal with the case. And that’s terrible.”
Burnett also expressed concern about the “ramping up” of the use of prison sentences and accused political parties of trying to outdo each other in their attitude to crime.
Greater use of community sentences, particularly for young offenders, should be invoked, he said. “I have long thought that many short sentences really serve no real purpose other than to punish and none of the other aims of sentencing are served at all,” said Burnett, adding that he “would certainly like to see more effective community penalties and punishments.”
All sounds vaguely familiar as we slice and dice the justice cake to suit current realities.