Guernsey Press

Courts try to cope with rise in not guilty pleas

THE number of not guilty pleas entered in the criminal courts over the past two years has increased seven-fold, according to Guernsey Police.

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A police spokesman said the number of not guilty pleas being entered was a primary reason for delay in trials concluding. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 21791523)

In the region of 40 trials are currently waiting to be heard and judges have raised concern over the time it has taken some matters to conclude.

A police spokesman said the number of not guilty pleas being entered was the primary reason for this.

‘Two years ago there were on average five trial files pending at any one time, however this has increased to an average of about 40 now,’ said the spokesman.

‘While the Criminal Justice Unit clearly cannot influence the number of defendants entering not guilty pleas, it remains committed to progressing cases through the court system as efficiently as possible and has appointed a full-time member of staff to co-ordinate the trial setting progress.’

This involved liaising with all parties concerned, including the defendant, witnesses, defence and prosecution advocates, and determining judge availability. While it could be logistically challenging to secure a date which suited everyone involved, lead times within the Guernsey court system were generally much shorter than those seen in the UK.

The court was also implementing a pre-trial review system, which would enable the prosecution and defence to resolve any particular legal issues that may need to be dealt with before a trial began.

It is hoped this will further aid the timescales involved within the court process.

Chairman of the Guernsey Criminal Bar, Advocate Alan Merrien, said the Bar did not maintain statistics as to the number of not guilty pleas entered before the courts nor did it have any way of comparing any figures with the situation elsewhere.

‘As to why there might have been an increase in the number of not guilty pleas entered, there are a variety of reasons which might explain this which are case-specific,’ he said.

‘Not all not guilty pleas entered result in a not guilty trial.’

He said defence advocates worked with all concerned in an effort to ensure trials were concluded as soon as reasonably possible.

Concern has also been raised in the Magistrate’s Court over incorrect or missing information on the court sheets – the papers that show a defendant’s details, what they are accused of and the case history.

The police spokesman said that, unlike the UK, where the clerks of the courts produced the daily court sheets, in Guernsey these were produced by the Criminal Justice Unit at the police station.

‘There have unfortunately been a few examples where some details have been missed from the court sheets,’ he said.

‘Time constraints involved in providing listings, particularly at late notice to the early morning courts, have been factors and we are taking steps to further improve the checks which are made prior to the sheets being issued to the court.’

Advocate Merrien said the information provided to the court obviously needed to be accurate.

‘It should be noted that not all errors will have an impact on the proceedings before the court,’ he said.

‘When errors are discovered, however, they need to be corrected as soon as possible.’