Remand

Prisoners on remand are pleading guilty in order to avoid spending up to two years in custody, The Times reports. A backlog of tens of thousands of cases has accumulated since the first lockdown began last March. This has led to a significant increase in the remand population.

The time suspects charged with serious crimes can be held in custody before being brought to trial has been extended in England by nearly a third, from 182 to 238 days. The controversial change was announced by Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC under "temporary legislation".

Exploratory research into the reasons behind decisions on bail and remand has been commissioned to support work to reduce the number of people on pre-trial and pre-sentencing remand in the prison system. Scotland has the highest prison population per head in western Europe and approximately one in f