Custody Time Limits & Young Defendants

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the government introduced changes to the custody time limit regulations that extended the custody time (time in prison) limits in the Crown Court by two months to address ongoing delays in the criminal justice system which worsened during the pandemic.

In September 2020, a non profit organisation called Just for Kids Law, along with The Howard League for Penal Reform and Liberty which is a national charity wrote to the government to raise concerns about:

‘…the unreasonble impact of the extension of custody time limits on those remanded in prison awaiting a trial, particularly on children from BAME (British. Black, Asian, and minority ethnic) backgrounds.’

Each of these organisations argued that the regulations were unlawful and threatened the matter being brought to court. The government did not back down, and a pre-action letter (a letter that is sent before going to court) was sent to the government.

This week the Ministry of Justice announced that they would introduce further regulations excusing children from the extended custody time limits.

The new rules will apply to children looking back to those who had their custody time limits set under the September 2020 regulations, which means that all children remanded at the Crown Court will have only be in custody (staying in a prison) for 182 days even if their first appearance at court took place before laying down the date of these new regulations.

Their trials will also be required to be re-listed to take place within the shorter custody time limits.

As a firm, we are delighted with this development; custody is an awful experience for any young person and time on remand should be as short as possible.

A child’s welfare should always be most important, no matter what challenges society faces.

We will ensure that all of our clients affected by this change will be told at the earliest possible opportunity and that their trials are arranged first.

How can we help?

We ensure we keep up to date with any changes in legislation and case law so that we are always best placed to advise you properly. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your case, please contact us on our 24 hour number or at tuckers@tuckerssolicitors.com