Last Tuesday, the Magistrates’ Association’s (MA) chief executive, Tom Franklin, gave oral evidence to the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry into adult custodial remand. He was joined by the MA’s former national chair, John Bache.
The inquiry seeks to better understand the rise in the adult remand population, the considerations of sentencers when deciding whether to remand, and the adequacy of legal representation in court.
The MA submitted the following evidence to the committee:
- Data gaps on the use of remand are concerning and should be filled. There is a dearth of evidence across various aspects of remand. For example, it is not currently known how many people are remanded for their own protection, nor is there data on remand decisions in general. Tom emphasised that data is the first step to addressing the issues in an evidence-based way.
- There is a wide variety of training to support magistrates in weighing up the decision to remand. Tom explained that it has been the experience of MA members that training is rigorous and equips them with tools to understand and make decisions about remand.
- There are few challenges associated with the duty to explain reasons in open courts for decisions to grant bail or remand a defendant into custody. Tom highlighted that tools such as the pronouncement builder assist magistrates with structured decision-making, but acknowledged that many magistrates’ encountered technical difficulties in communicating decisions to courts during Covid-19 necessitated remote hearings. Further details on the latter can be found in the MA’s recently published report.
- Viable bail packages should be determined before defendants appear in court, so that magistrates know that alternatives to custody are workable and realistic. This might mean that remand is not so easily relied upon as the only safe option.
The session can be watched in full here. Specific themes are addressed at the following timestamps:
- The factors magistrates consider when deciding whether remand is appropriate, including discussion on whether the expected length of time on remand should be an explicit consideration for the bench: from 14:25:30
- The guidance and training magistrates receive to assist them in making these decisions: from 14:46:11
- Reasons for the increase in the remand population: from 14:48:26
- Legal representation in remand hearings: from 15:03:37
- The alternatives to remand available to magistrates, besides conditional bail: from 15:06:50
- The prevalence and use of remand for own protection: from 15:14:45
- Challenges, if any, associated with the duty to explain reasons for remand/bail in open court: from 15:19:48
