Last year, 787,403 criminal cases were dealt with by magistrates’ courts in single justice procedure (SJP) settings, the highest level since the procedure came into force in April 2015, according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data published on Thursday.
This is higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 784,325 SJP cases in 2019.
SJP hearings allow cases involving adults charged with summary offences—low-level offences which can be dealt with by magistrates—to be handled by one magistrate without the prosecutor or defendant being present. Defendants can plead online, though they can choose to attend their hearing in person.
From 12,031 in 2015 to 787,403 in 2023
In 2015, the first year SJPs were introduced, there were 12,031 cases dealt with using this procedure.Numbers increased substantially the following year to 329,406, with 696,935 in 2017, 761,995 in 2018, and then peaking at 784,325, before declining during the pandemic.
In 2020 there were 539,549 cases, rising again to 639,104 in 2021, and then 736,110 in 2022 before the new record figure of 787,403 last year.
SJP ‘Needs Reform’
This week, the Magistrates’ Association said in a report that the SJP “needs reform,” admitting that while the procedure allows for “speedier justice,” they do not allow enough time for defendants’ mitigating circumstances to be heard.“For example, somebody might genuinely believe that their car is insured, but the direct debit might have been inadvertently cancelled and their insurance has been cancelled—this still constitutes an offence even though the offender does not have a guilty state of mind,” the report explained.
Open Justice
The Magistrates’ Association also recommended that accredited journalists be allowed to observe the sittings.“Journalists should be able to see short explanations from magistrates where the magistrate has deviated from sentencing guidelines. This will in turn help the public to understand why a particular decision has been made,” they said.
‘Fairness Is Non-Negotiable’
Earlier this week, Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk suggested the SJP system might be “refined” or need “recalibrating” in the “interests of transparency.”Andy Carter MP had raised concerns about SJPs in the House of Commons on Tuesday, saying that while “the principle behind the single justice procedure is good,” and he had sat in on cases in SJP courts, “there are some concerns, in particular around vulnerable individuals who may have mitigation that is not necessarily being addressed.”
Mr. Chalk responded: “On the single justice procedure, fairness is non-negotiable, so it is critical that every person who comes before the courts, whether via the SJP or an open court, gets that fairness. There is an issue about transparency.”
“It is something that we ought to consider recalibrating. Everyone accepts that the SJP works well and is a useful addition. We just need to see whether it ought to be refined in the interests of promoting transparency,” he added.
