Ministers want to know why cases 'escalated' to Crown Court
Damian Green, the justice minister, has said that the sentencing powers of magistrates will be kept 'under review', with the government keeping on the statute book provisions which could increase them.
Green said there was an "attractive logic" to increasing powers as a way of keeping more cases in the magistrates' courts, but there was a risk it could cause "additional pressure on the prison population".
The justice minister said the MoJ had done some work on analysing the impact of increased powers, but admitted that ministers "perhaps disagree" with the Magistrates Association on "how easy it could be to realise any savings and the costs of additional prison places".
Green said he wanted ...
