Poll: Should 'on-the-spot justice' be dispensed inside police stations?
As a think-tank proposes that magistrates should dispense on-the-spot justice inside police stations at peak times, we want to know what you think.
As part of a radical set of recommendations to speed up the criminal justice system and help deliver planned budget cuts of nearly 40%, the Policy Exchange has argued in favour of recruiting 10,000 new magistrates, boosting overall numbers to 33,000.
New magistrates could sit in police stations - including during evenings and weekends - and other community buildings and would oversee out-of-court disposals, which Policy Exchange says accounts for 20% of all criminal cases.
There is currently a two-month delay from the time an offender is charged by the police to the sentence being handed down in a magistrates' court., the think-tank said.
Should 'on-the-spot justice' be dispensed inside police stations? Vote in our poll below and have your say in the comments section:
