- pleas made online for low-level crimes help speed up legal
cases
- months of court time saved since outdated postal practice
went online
Most defendants facing non-imprisonable motoring offences such as
speeding or having no insurance have been able to enter their
plea online instead of by post since the widespread roll-out of
the digital service was completed 6 years ago.
The former postal system meant those accused of offences were
required to fill in a paper form indicating a guilty or not
guilty plea, before posting it back to the courts to be
processed.
The new system means cases are now dealt with more efficiently,
freeing up court staff time to deal with both more serious
offences and immigration cases, speeding up asylum decisions and
stopping the boats.
Justice Secretary, KC, said:
This is a great example of the changes we are making to modernise
the justice system.
Making our justice system more straight forward for users drives
efficiency, cuts down on red tape for staff and ultimately
strengthens the rule of law.
The service means that only those wishing to contest a charge
need to go to the court and guilty pleas entered online are dealt
with by a single magistrate sitting with a legal adviser under
the Single Justice Procedure. Anyone can still choose to attend
court for a full court hearing if they wish to do so.
The ability to make online pleas is just one of the measures
introduced as part of the HMCTS Reform Programme which is making
more services available online and improving access to justice.
