Government traffic courts to tackle case congestion
The government is planning to set up a new nationwide system of special traffic courts to speed up the half a million motoring cases currently dealt with by magistrates courts.
The proposal is intended to reduce snarl-ups in the judicial system.
The Ministry of Justice says that motoring cases often take longer to process than major offences, even though over 90 per cent result in a guilty plea or are proved in absence of the defendant.
Justice Minister Damien Green, described this as “unacceptable”, adding: “The justice system must respond more quickly and effectively to the needs of victims, witnesses and local communities, and these dedicated courts will enable magistrates to better organise their work and drive greater efficiency.”
Speedier system
Nine police areas are already using a similar procedure for traffic cases with great success according to Chief Constable Chris Eyre, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) lead on criminal justice. Mr Eyre said that the process has radically simplified and speeded up the process in cases where there is a guilty plea or the case against the defendant is not contested:
“Effective first hearings have significantly reduced the amount of adjournments, and a single court can deal with up to 160 cases a day.”
Traffic courts are already being trialled by the following police forces: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Yorkshire.
The government is now discussing with the judiciary, who are responsible for managing cases in the courts, how the traffic courts can be delivered across the country in a bid to free up magistrates’ court time for more serious offences.