According to the Law Commission there are many petty criminal offences that they consider surplus and are wishing to scrap. They have reached the conclusion that they should only seek criminal sanctions in serious cases and leave minor offences that are often dealt with via fines. The opinion is that civil penalties are quicker and cheaper to enforce.
Since 1997 over 3000 new criminal offences have been added to the statute book.
This has lead the law commission to estimate that by scrapping them savings of 11 million pounds each year could be made. The areas they wish to focus on are primarily farming, banking, retail sales and food safety. The commission said in its report that. ‘If a very large number of offences are being created, but these offences are not being used, resources put into creating them are being wasted.’
Presently criminal cases are heard in the crown court or by magistrates, convictions can be secured if evidence proves ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the offence was committed. Criminal cases cost much more than civil cases to launch and administer. In a civil case the case only requires proving, ‘in the balance of probabilities.’
Since the end of the 1980′s there has been an increase in the amount of bodies with powers to make criminal laws and therefore many new offences have been added over time.
From 2008 there has been more than 100 criminal offences added by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This shows just how many laws can be added and how many can be added in a short time span.
The law commission has deemed many of these rules as ‘rarely used’ and not necessarily helping to contribute towards more correct convictions.
By replacing certain not- serious criminal offences with a civil penalties system which works like a parking ticket and allows people to not receive a criminal conviction the law commission estimate a figure of 11 million per year could be saved.
criminal defence lawyers will always be needed in any criminal law case. A crime lawyer can help with all criminal cases.
September 10, 2010 by Clare Westwood