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Court Staff face disciplinary
March 12 2008
A disciplinary inquiry was under way last night after a report found that thousands of convicted offenders had not been listed on the Police National Computer because of a catalogue of court errors, while hundreds of other suspects had escaped trial.
From The TimesMarch 12, 2008
Court staff
A disciplinary inquiry was under way last night after a report found that thousands of convicted offenders had not been listed on the Police National Computer because of a catalogue of court errors, while hundreds of other suspects had escaped trial. Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, announced that an investigation would take place into the “lamentable” failings at Leeds Magistrates’ Court, possibly leading to criminal charges against court staff involved. Up to 555 defendants who had their warrants to appear in court withdrawn may now be recalled over the 1,709 charges that they faced. Most were for motoring or other minor matters, but 115 were for serious offences that should be recorded on the Police National Computer. Yesterday’s report by four independent criminal justice inspectorates also found that Leeds Magistrates’ Court had failed to record the outcome of cases concerning 2,206 defendants in respect of 3,260 offences, of which 1,568 were serious.
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· Solicitors strike to hit court cases At worst, 1,200 defendants have not had the outcomes of the 1,568 most serious offences, including grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and possession of a firearm, recorded on the computer. The report calls for an inquiry into whether checks run through the Criminal Records Bureau have been compromised. Nick Herbert, Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, said the “catalogue of negligence and poor record keeping” had undermined the justice system in West Yorkshire and let down victims of crime. He added: “The systemic nature of the errors, widespread managerial failings and length of time over which they occurred raises the question of whether these failings might be occurring in other courts.” The report, by the inspectorates of Court Administration, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Constabulary and the Probation Service, shows a pattern of “historic failure” dating back to 1980, although most incidents occurred between 2001 and 2004. Mr Straw said he accepted the findings entirely and insisted that the Government was acting on them. A separate report was being sent to the Lord Chief Justice, he said. Disciplinary action has already begun against the court staff involved. Two managers have been found guilty of gross misconduct on the basis of “neglecting official duties and failing to ensure accurate records were maintained”. Grahame Stowe, a solicitor in Leeds for 35 years, said that the blunders resulted from a “national obsession” with statistics. “The general ethos of modern justice is ‘the cheaper the better’ – with little regard for standards,” he said. “The clerks, by processing cases themselves, ensured the number of cases ‘awaiting decision’ remained low – and they met government targets. “Whilst it may appear an administrative trick, serious offenders have gone completely unpunished as a result.” Off the recordThe failings led to: — Court results not being recorded and possibly being lost for good — Removal of numerous cases where the outcomes had not been recorded from computer system — Fabrication of results, with legal advisers “guessing the result of the case where the true court adjudication could not be traced”, and entering them as convictions — In 2007 588 cases for which results could not be traced were ordered to be marked as “untraceable”. All but three were then entered as “convicted” — Some results have now been traced but there are still 523 cases for which results cannot be found