A phased introduction of statutory time limits for certain cases should begin as part of a more radical approach to quicken the pace of Northern Ireland’s judicial process, a new report claimed today.
With the average avoidable delay in some prosecutions now running at 289 days - a month more compared to a year ago - the Criminal Justice Inspection said the hold-up in disposing of Crown Court and Magistrate Court summonses was twice as long as in England and Wales.
Some youth cases were taking seven and a half times longer, and even though the scale of the problem had been highlighted in the summer of 2010 when there was a call for an immediate and effective response, progress had been slow.
Michael Maguire, chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, said it was important the justice organisations, including the police and the Public Prosecution Service, responded flexibly to ensure the system overall did not suffer.
But it was a continuing challenge which required constant monitoring and corrective action at an operational level. A significant reduction in the end-to-end times for case progression required a number of successful building blocks to be put in place.
In a foreword to his latest report, Dr Maguire said: “It requires in the first instance a real desire and commitment to make it happen.
“It necessitates having the right people taking decisions on the basis of common real-time information and implementing these changes at an operational level across a range of organisations.
“It requires ongoing monitoring and review to ensure that progress is maintained and embedded into operational practice. It requires changes in behaviours at the front line and a shared desire among all those involved to make a difference.
“It requires an ongoing focus, adaptability and flexibility in approach to deal with new issues as they emerge.”
Dealing with the problems of reducing avoidable delay was beyond the capability of any single organisation within the justice system, according to Dr Maguire.
He added: “It requires many different people often working to different agendas and against their own self interest to engage collaboratively on the issue.”
It was not surprising the problem had been such an intractable one, he said. There were a number of bodies involved, each with their own accountability arrangements, management information, organisational cultures and operational priorities.
It required changes in behaviours by defence solicitors and barristers whom he claimed were outside their normal accountability arrangements. This reality could often work against a collaborative approach in achieving the common goal of reducing avoidable delay.
Dr Maguire said: “The reality is that an incremental approach has not delivered the anticipated performance improvement and this is likely to be an obstacle to change because of the nature of the justice system.
“A more radical approach is required to deliver the step change in performance which is required. The starting point as recommended in the past two CJI inspection reports on avoidable delay should be a decision to introduce statutory time limits for specific types of defendants and offences.
“The time limits should be introduced on a phased basis starting with youth cases in the next two years. The time limits should facilitate the implementation of current improvement initiatives and help them to sustain performance improvement.
“The response to this recommendation in the past has been to review the situation on an ongoing basis. It is my view that the time for implementation has now arrived in order to make a difference.”
PA