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04/06/2007
Targets set for bringing cases to court
New standards to reduce the time it takes for criminal cases to be brought to court have been announced today.
The measures, which sets targets for the average time taken for cases to reach court in the different types of criminal case, were unveiled today by the Attorney General and the Criminal Justice Minister Maria Eagle at the Criminal Justice annual conference in Belfast.
Maria Eagle said: “We are making it a priority for the criminal justice system to become more efficient and more responsive. These new standards set a real challenge, and we will need to raise our game to meet them.”
Prisoners in Northern Ireland spend an average a year behind bars before their cases go to court.
The Attorney General said: “In respect of the pre-committal stages of Crown Court cases, by 2010/11 we expect to see a reduction of around 30%. And we have set particularly challenging standards in Youth cases where we want to see a 44% improvement in the processing of charge cases.”
The Criminal Justice System has already started tackling causes of delay. There are new protocols between the PSNI and Prosecution Service, and new practices to improve communication.
Case Progression Officers and Youth Case Champions have been appointed. A pilot is being launched to try out new ways of working, drawing on the very effective ‘Simple, Speedy Summary Justice’ experiments in England and Wales.
(JM/SP)
The measures, which sets targets for the average time taken for cases to reach court in the different types of criminal case, were unveiled today by the Attorney General and the Criminal Justice Minister Maria Eagle at the Criminal Justice annual conference in Belfast.
Maria Eagle said: “We are making it a priority for the criminal justice system to become more efficient and more responsive. These new standards set a real challenge, and we will need to raise our game to meet them.”
Prisoners in Northern Ireland spend an average a year behind bars before their cases go to court.
The Attorney General said: “In respect of the pre-committal stages of Crown Court cases, by 2010/11 we expect to see a reduction of around 30%. And we have set particularly challenging standards in Youth cases where we want to see a 44% improvement in the processing of charge cases.”
The Criminal Justice System has already started tackling causes of delay. There are new protocols between the PSNI and Prosecution Service, and new practices to improve communication.
Case Progression Officers and Youth Case Champions have been appointed. A pilot is being launched to try out new ways of working, drawing on the very effective ‘Simple, Speedy Summary Justice’ experiments in England and Wales.
(JM/SP)
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