The justice system in the north has been branded “dire” amid calls for tougher sentencing and concerns that victims of crime continue to be ‘harmed’ by the slow pace of justice here.
In a damning assessment, Victims’ Commissioner Designate Geraldine Hanna spoke out as Stormont justice chiefs continue to draw up new sentencing laws.
Appointed in June 2022, the commissioner provides support to victims of serious crime and is responsible for a series of functions, including reviewing the effectiveness of law and practice.
The office, which is not yet on a statutory footing, also monitors outcomes and makes recommendations when needed.
The majority of people who engage with the commission are the victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and hate crime along with murder or manslaughter.
The justice system in the north is known to work at a painfully slow pace, with serious cases often taking years to make their way through the court system.
Ms Hanna has extensive experience in helping victims of crime and is a former Chief Executive of Victim Support NI.
She currently attends meetings of the Criminal Justice Board, which brings together leading experts including senior police officers and members of the judiciary.
With more than two decades working in the victims’ sector, Ms Hanna is in little doubt as to the impact the current system has on those impacted directly by crime.
“The sad reality is the longer you are in our system the more likely it is that you are going to have been harmed by it in some way, delay being the key issue and obviously that’s a key issue for us,” she said.
“There’s a series of work going on at the Criminal Justice Board to address that.
“The fact that the dire state that the system is in is due to the fact that we haven’t sufficiently resourced it, particularly the last decade.”
The commissioner believes that both a lack of funding and dysfunctional political system are at fault.
“And since devolution it has continued to be the poor relation, and we are seeing the impact of that now,” she said.
“It’s partly down to resources but also linked to the pace of change here and the fact we’ve had a stop start government.
“The reform that’s needed in the justice system has been very slow in coming around.”
Ms Hanna, who has regular contact with victims, said they believe the current structures cause further damage.
“What we are seeing now and what I am hearing from victims of crime is a system that is causing them further harm, a system they didn’t realise was as bad until they entered it,” she said.
A common cause of complaint within the victims’ sector is the length of time it takes to get a case in to court.
Official figures show that in 2023-24, the average time taken for a charge case to be dealt with at Crown Court was 551 days, while the average for a summons case was 1,199 days.
The figure for sexual offences over the same timeframe was 675 days - the longest for any offence category.
The victims’ expert believes the system is damaged, which in turn has wider implications.
“The reality is that if the criminal justice system isn’t working effectively we are not going to have a safe society,” she said.
The commissioner said it was “in all our best interests” to have a court set-up that operates effectively.
“But the length of time those cases are talking is obviously making that more difficult and increasing the risks,” she said.
“So, delay is a big issue for us.”
The commissioner designate said while the hold-up in getting cases into courts was made worse by Covid it continues to cause concern.
“What that means is victims are waiting longer for their cases to be heard and what inevitably happens is individuals are further traumatised….particularly those more serious offences, people are waiting for that, it’s part of their journey,” she said.
“I don’t think anybody returns to normal after a serious crime type like that, but they adjust to a new normal, but they can’t do that until the case gets to court.
“The actual process of being in court, around disclosure, around victims’ access to their personal information, particularly sexual violence cases, causes further harm and distress to victims.”
Ms Hanna said she is also “hearing significant concerns being raised around sentencing” and that the forthcoming Sentencing Bill will provide an “opportunity for our assembly to address some of our failings regarding our sentencing framework in Northern Ireland”.
The bill, which is expected to be introduced in the Autumn, is a “priority” for Ms Hanna.
She has raised concerns about the sentencing approach by members of the judiciary in the north, which operates under different guidelines than counterparts in England and Wales.
Those nations have a Sentencing Council, which develops guidance for judges.
In the north this guidance is developed by case law at Crown Courts and involves a more complicated process.
“I would say that judges here are very much wedded to their case law model compared to England and Wales, where they have a Sentencing Council,” she said.
Ms Hanna believes the north should also have a sentencing structure in place that provides clarity to members of the judiciary.
“I appreciate that a Sentencing Council would take resources, but what I think we need to be looking at, particularly when we have sentencing under scrutiny under the upcoming bill - what can we do more to get us closer to the level of transparency and clarity that we can see coming from the likes of England and Wales, even Scotland?
“Can we get closer to that here and how do we do that?”
Ms Hanna said there is also a perception of leniency in the north’s justice system.
“I think that particularly in recent years we are seeing a disparity between the level of sentence that you would get for offences in England and Wales versus what you are getting here in Northern Ireland,” she said.
“And that’s not necessarily the case that you will get more in England and Wales...it’s more that the level of sentences being arrived at here by the judges on face value to the public, or to victims, seem less.”
Ms Hanna also believes that an ‘early guilty plea’, which is designed to encourage those who intend to admit their guilt do so early in the process, requires an overhaul.
As the system currently stands if a guilty plea is entered at arraignment, when a guilty or not guilty plea must be entered, the accused can receive a maximum of one-third off their sentence.
However, a guilty plea between then and the first day of trial can result in a reduction of between one-third and one-quarter of the sentence.
Ms Hanna points out that in some cases, particularly sexual and domestic violence, the longer it takes a case to get to court the more likely the victim will withdraw.
This possibility of collapse provides an incentive for culprits to draw out proceedings.
Ms Hanna highlights that rather than achieve the aim of an early plea an accused can in effect “ride both horses” in the knowledge they will still receive a quarter reduction in their sentence for a late plea.
In England and Wales, the system allows for a one-third reduction for an early guilty plea, with just a 10 percent cut available for an admission for a plea on the first day of trial.
Ms Hanna believes there needs to be a “shift” in the approach taken in the north.
“I think we need to legislate for a sliding scale reduction for early guilty pleas because we are seeing sentences that don’t match up to similar in England and Wales, and this is a way for us to help ensure that it’s fair,” she said.
“Sentencing needs to be fair and for victims of crime this doesn’t seem fair.”
The commissioner said those intent on manipulating the system must be discouraged.
“We still have all these people pleading on the day, and what often happens as well for victims of sexual violence in particular, the defendant might wait to see do they show up,” she said.
“Again, you want to discourage that behaviour.”
She strongly believes legislation needs to change and has raised the matter with justice minister Naomi Long.
The commissioner also wants to see the issue of character references for people facing serious charges to be addressed.
In the past such references have been controversial.
Earlier this week, Derry based SDLP councillor Brian Tierney quit the party after it emerged he provided a court reference for Kielan Mooney, who was recently convicted of rape in a Dublin court.
Similar controversies have surfaced in the north’s courts in the past.
In 2013 former Tyrone manager Mickey Harte faced criticism after providing a character reference for a man who admitted sexually assaulting a woman.
“I don’t see what relevance prior good character or post good character following committing these offences have on sentencing in a case,” Ms Hanna said.
Ms Hanna added that presenting references to courts for those guilty of crimes is offensive to victims.
“What we know is perpetrators of domestic violence and sexual violence will often tell their victim that no-one will believe them if they tell,” she said.
“Then to have got as far as court, got a conviction, and then having someone writing in….it’s an insult.
“I don’t see what purpose it serves, so why are we doing it?
“I think we need to remove that as an option for people to do, I don’t see what benefit it bringing to our system.”
The commissioner added that the current system causes “harm”.
“It does cause, unfortunately, further harm, trauma to victims,” she said.
“We should be doing everything in our power that removes unnecessary trauma, just like with delay.
“It’s always going to take a time for the case to get to court but we should be doing everything in our power to remove avoidable delay.”
Justice minister Naomi Long said she aims to introduce the Sentencing Bill in the Autumn.
“I intend to make important changes on a range of sentencing issues, including sentencing for assaults on those providing a service to the public or performing a public duty, sentencing for attacks on vulnerable victims, and increasing maximum penalties and driving disqualification periods for offences causing death by driving,” she said.
“The bill will also include provisions creating ‘Charlotte’s Law’, which aims to encourage killers to reveal how and where they disposed of their victims’ remains in ‘no body’ cases, as well as a statutory aggravation model for hate crimes.”
