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6 May 2022
Adult court matters

We’re pleased that our views on this historic reform were featured by a wealth of print and online national, local and sector-specific publications.

A video camera is recording a man in a shirt.

On 2 May 2022, increased sentencing powers for magistrates—specified in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 that received Royal Assent at the end of April—came into force to help ease the backlog of cases in the crown court.

Engaging with the media is one of the key ways that we seek to promote the magistracy and the important work of our members. So, we’re pleased that our views on this historic reform were featured by a wealth of print and online national, local and sector-specific publications including, among others: Daily ExpressEvening StandardGB NewsMSN NewsMy LondonOxford MailPolice ProfessionalSky NewsShropshire StarThe IndependentThe National (Scotland), The National (Wales)The Times, The Yorkshire Post (front cover) and Yahoo News.

Our National Chair, Bev Higgs, also appeared in interviews with LBC and Times Radio.

This latest flood of media attention builds on coverage secured earlier in the year about our campaign win. We advocated for an extension to magistrates’ sentencing powers for more than a decade to help speed up justice for complainants and defendants. It’s anticipated that 1,700 days of crown court time will be freed up every year now that magistrates can hear more cases.