NCJ Number
130952
Date Published
1991
Length
55 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the experiments that have been conducted to determine the potential effectiveness of Section 155 of the 1988 Criminal Justice Act. These experiments made it possible for the Secretary of State to give magistrates' courts the power to remand defendants in custody for a period of up to 28 days before all courts were empowered to make such remands.
Abstract
Four magistrates' courts participated in the experiments: Manchester, Nottingham, Highbury Corner (in North London), and Croydon. The experiments revealed that the power to remand in custody for up to 28 days was used extensively by the 4 courts. Introduction of the new powers resulted in a reduction of 17 percent in the number of court hearings for those dealt with by summary trial, a reduction of 37 percent in the number of hearings for those dealt with by committal proceedings, and a reduction of 35 percent in hearings for either type of defendant. The experiment provided little evidence to support concerns about increasing the average time spent in custody. 14 tables, 5 appendixes, and 6 references