‘Any of us could be wrongly accused of a crime – but there’s one real danger’

Hundreds more prisoners will be released early today to ease the chronic lack of jail spaces.

While this short-term fix is not without risk, it reflects the urgency of the crisis in our criminal justice system. However, unless longer-term investment across the system is forthcoming, victims will lose faith they will get the justice they deserve, criminals will be emboldened that they will not face justice and innocent people will continue to suffer miscarriages of justice.

The hard work and dedication of all those who work in the criminal justice system has helped maintain a semblance of justice despite the system being stretched to breaking point, as the Prime Minister has recognised. However, eventually the impact of decades of underinvestment and cuts hits home.

You can see it in the prison spaces crisis and the need for this early release scheme. It is evident by looking at the crumbling state of courts across England and Wales. You can see it by the exodus of solicitors and barristers from the profession. It is demonstrated by the huge backlogs of cases in our criminal courts with years and years between crimes being committed and trials taking place.

Victims, witnesses and defendants are left in limbo, their anguish increased by justice being delayed. It is clear the public care about justice, in the same way they care about other public services, judging by the reaction to miscarriages of justice such as the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson and the Post Office scandal.

The public share an intrinsic public belief that everyone is entitled to a fair trial regardless of their status. Any of us could be a victim of crime or find ourselves wrongfully accused of a crime and in dire need of the advice and support a duty solicitor provides. Without the accused having access to a defence, we no longer have a criminal justice system.

The swift arrests and prosecutions following the riots in the summer showed what the system can do when given full backing. The response also highlighted the importance of criminal defence solicitors, who provide crucial legal advice and representation to the accused at the earliest stage at the police station. As well as safeguarding the rights of accused people, defence solicitors play an important role in ensuring the smooth running of the system.

However, there are fewer and fewer duty solicitors because legal aid rates are so low and they can no longer afford to do this job. There is a real danger that people will not be able to get legal representation when they need it as more and more solicitors walk away from the criminal defence profession forever. This could mean that suspects are routinely released from the police station on bail because they cannot be interviewed as there is no solicitor available to attend the interview, causing concern for their alleged victims. It will also heighten the risk of miscarriages of justice.

Rebuilding the criminal justice system will take years of hard work, investment and sensible reform. This vital work of rebuilding the system can only start once the current system is stabilised and efforts made to stem the exodus of essential professionals. Key to this is stabilising the criminal defence profession, who support the system right from the police station to the Crown Court and beyond.

A good starting point would be for the government to give solicitors the minimum 15% rise in legal aid rates (in real terms) that an independent review recommended was needed to stabilise the system in 2021. Three years later and even after the Law Society’s successful judicial review of the previous government’s decision to not fully implement the recommended increase, defence solicitors continue to leave the profession. Legal aid is a vital public service that must be maintained and funded to ensure justice is available to all.

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