Sentencing chiefs face warned ‘two-tier justice system’ will escalate court backlogs and cost tens of millions of pounds to implement_Nhy
The ‘two-tier justice system’ coming into force next month will escalate court backlogs and cost tens of millions of pounds to implement, the Conservatives warned tonight.
Official guidelines from the Sentencing Council recommend all ethnic minorities and transgender people convicted of a crime should be treated differently by judges and magistrates.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: ‘This two-tier sentencing guidance isn’t just deeply unfair, it will also likely cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds.
‘It will blow a hole in the Probation Service’s budget and overwhelm them, creating delays that will mean victims have to wait longer for justice.’
Mr Jenrick has drawn up legislation which would grant ministers a veto over measures unveiled by the Council.
The legal measures would require the Justice Secretary to give her consent to new sentencing guidelines plus powers to amend them.
Labour will have to indicate whether it will back Mr Jenrick’s bill in Parliament when it receives its second reading tomorrow.
Ms Mahmood has previously said she would wait until a new sentencing bill is published by the Government – which is unlikely to be in force for at least a year.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) said: ‘This two-tier sentencing guidance isn’t just deeply unfair, it will also likely cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds’
Official guidelines from the Sentencing Council recommend all ethnic minorities and transgender people convicted of a crime should be treated differently by judges and magistrates. Pictured: File photo
Ms Mahmood (pictured) has previously said she would wait until a new sentencing bill is published by the Government – which is unlikely to be in force for at least a year
Mr Jenrick said: ‘The Justice Secretary was asleep at the wheel while her department approved this guidance.
‘She has a chance to fix her mess by backing my Bill to stop the two-tier system coming into force and preserve equality before the law.
‘If Labour refuse, there will be two-tier justice under ‘Two-Tier Keir’ in just 18 days’ time.’
There is already a Crown court backlog of 73,000 cases in England and Wales.
And background papers published by the Council reveal some magistrates and judges warned the plan could over-burden the Probation Service, which compiles ‘pre-sentence reports’ (PSRs) on convicted offenders.
The new guidelines say it must ‘normally be considered necessary’ for the courts to commission a PSR if a criminal is from ‘an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community’.
They also include a long list of other ‘minority’ criminals to be covered by the measures, including transgender people, young adults and addicts. It should also apply to all women offenders, they add.
While drawing up the measures the Council was warned they would be ‘biased’.
Baroness Falkner (pictured), head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, voiced ‘concerns’ that there ‘might be some discrimination by leaving out some groups and elevating others’
Documents reveal ‘many’ individuals who responded to a consultation said the minorities list should be completely scrapped.
‘There were strong opinions from all sides about this section, and many individual respondents, including some magistrates, did not believe there should be cohort list at all, mostly citing reasoning around the idea that the list is biased and conflicts with equality in sentencing,’ the documents said.
However, the warnings were ignored when the final version was published.
Labour’s Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked the Council to reconsider the measures warning they would lead to ‘differential treatment’, but was rebuffed. She was due to meet Council members today.
This week Britain’s equality watchdog also warned the moves – which come into force on April 1 – may be discriminatory.
Baroness Falkner, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, voiced ‘concerns’ that there ‘might be some discrimination by leaving out some groups and elevating others’.
The Council’s background papers also indicated criminals should be ordered to undergo a pre-sentence report if there is a ‘possibility’ they belong to a minority group.
It would include those who claim, for example, to have addiction issues, mental health problems, or to have suffered abuse or coercion.
Last night, the Justice Secretary and the head of the Sentencing Council held ‘constructive’ talks about guidance to judges which prompted claims of ‘two-tier justice’.
She and council chairman Lord Justice William Davis had a ‘constructive discussion’ yesterday, the Ministry of Justice and the council said in separate statements.
‘It was agreed that the Lord Chancellor will set out her position more fully in writing, which the Sentencing Council will then consider before the guideline is due to come into effect,’ both statements said.
