Browse content similar to 11/11/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Weekend hearings and appearances by a video links and the South East. | :01:33. | :01:43. | |
:01:43. | :01:43. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2139 seconds | :01:43. | :37:23. | |
Is it fair on defendants and I am Julia George and this is the | :37:23. | :37:26. | |
Sunday Politics in the South East. Coming up later: | :37:26. | :37:29. | |
Will government attempts to fast track planning permissions help or | :37:29. | :37:35. | |
hinder the South East economy? With me in the studio sharing their | :37:35. | :37:37. | |
thoughts on the big stories are Tracey Crouch the Conservative MP | :37:37. | :37:40. | |
for Chatham, and Paul Richards a Sussex-based Labour commentator. | :37:40. | :37:45. | |
Nice to have you both here. Four days left until the first | :37:45. | :37:47. | |
Police and Crime Commissioners elections for Kent, Sussex and | :37:47. | :37:57. | |
:37:57. | :38:02. | ||
Surrey. Everyone says it will be a | :38:02. | :38:06. | |
shockingly low turnout but people seem engaged, it you think we will | :38:06. | :38:11. | |
be surprised? I think we have got more engaged as the election | :38:11. | :38:14. | |
more engaged as the election process has gone on. It is very | :38:14. | :38:16. | |
different to a normal campaign. Am not surprised that people feel they | :38:17. | :38:20. | |
have not had as much information as they could have but people have | :38:20. | :38:25. | |
been coming up to me and asking me about it. We could be surprised on | :38:25. | :38:31. | |
Thursday. You wanted to be a police crime commissioner, I'm sure you're | :38:31. | :38:36. | |
over that you weren't selected for it, would this be more attractive | :38:36. | :38:41. | |
to people as an election if there was less ball -- party politics? | :38:41. | :38:47. | |
How can you take it out of policing? The demarcation between | :38:47. | :38:50. | |
operational or not operational is quite clear. She know how many | :38:50. | :38:55. | |
people said they would rather have independent candidates only? | :38:55. | :38:59. | |
two out of those it will be going to the elections. I would be put in | :39:00. | :39:04. | |
money on no independent winning anywhere. Four days until you make | :39:04. | :39:09. | |
your mind up. Still on the subject of crime- | :39:09. | :39:12. | |
courts, Sussex and Kent are taking part in a government pilot scheme | :39:12. | :39:14. | |
to deliver 'swift justice' by hearing cases in the evenings and | :39:14. | :39:17. | |
weekends. They are also using virtual technology so defendants | :39:17. | :39:19. | |
appear from police stations by video link. Are these experimental | :39:19. | :39:29. | |
:39:29. | :39:35. | ||
flexible courts really up to the As riots reached last summer courts | :39:35. | :39:41. | |
across Manchester, Birmingham and London were open round the clock. | :39:41. | :39:44. | |
Offenders could be arrested, charged and sentenced on the same | :39:44. | :39:49. | |
day it was unprecedented. David Cameron called it swift justice for | :39:49. | :39:55. | |
troublemakers. It sped up the way the courts operate. In July the | :39:55. | :39:58. | |
Government announced that magistrates' courts would act more | :39:58. | :40:02. | |
flexibly and open in the evenings and weekends. There are already | :40:02. | :40:07. | |
trying it out here in Brighton and in crawling, would be and the | :40:07. | :40:14. | |
Hastings. The other ways to increase the number of defendants | :40:14. | :40:18. | |
appearing in court is going via video link, but will this cost | :40:18. | :40:25. | |
more? And does more speed me more justice? | :40:25. | :40:29. | |
This is where the screeners. This is where we are linked to the | :40:29. | :40:34. | |
courts. North Kent has been part of or at | :40:34. | :40:37. | |
National Trial of a virtual courts for three years now. There are | :40:37. | :40:44. | |
about to begin the evening sittings also. We have extended hours and | :40:44. | :40:49. | |
that means instead of keeping people unnecessarily overnight, we | :40:49. | :40:52. | |
can put them before a magistrate that same day and reduce the need | :40:52. | :40:57. | |
to keep them in the police station. Instead of appearing in court in | :40:57. | :41:02. | |
person there plot of a special room in the police station. They can see | :41:02. | :41:06. | |
what is happening on screen and give evidence to the camera which | :41:06. | :41:11. | |
is broadcast to the court room. When the pilot scheme started in | :41:12. | :41:18. | |
2009 it did not save money, it costs an extra �247 per defendant. | :41:18. | :41:23. | |
Courts but told to speed up to cut costs. There was to be 610 minutes | :41:23. | :41:30. | |
hearings and I were. For victims that can seem too fast. With some | :41:30. | :41:36. | |
courts equipped, and some not, victims are supposed to go further | :41:36. | :41:42. | |
to hear the cases heard. The impact of acrimony is quite significant. | :41:42. | :41:46. | |
To feel that that is heard in such a short time could be a | :41:46. | :41:51. | |
disadvantage. In terms of seeing the person in the real life it has | :41:51. | :42:00. | |
greater impact. -- the impact of a crime. It is not just victims to | :42:00. | :42:03. | |
feel that face-to-face meetings with defendants make a difference. | :42:03. | :42:07. | |
It is also important for the lawyers representing them at | :42:07. | :42:14. | |
crucial first hearings. He is a senior member of the Law Society | :42:14. | :42:22. | |
and he once more it changes for the impact on lawyers. Law firms will | :42:22. | :42:26. | |
have a greater expense. We will not be paid any more for the work we do | :42:26. | :42:31. | |
out of hours. But we will have to pay our staff were working overtime. | :42:31. | :42:36. | |
Virtual calls on a major concern. The defendant will not meet his | :42:36. | :42:42. | |
lawyer face to face. So the first time that you appear in court, it | :42:42. | :42:46. | |
will be likely that when the court is seeking new remand in custody, | :42:46. | :42:49. | |
so the state want to lock you up, you will be defended by someone you | :42:50. | :42:54. | |
have never met and that is not good for justice and is not right. | :42:54. | :42:57. | |
Defendants do not get to choose whether they appear in person or | :42:57. | :43:02. | |
via video. Defendants are more likely to plead guilty in a virtual | :43:02. | :43:08. | |
court situation. That is what has been shown. Within 3,000 people | :43:08. | :43:12. | |
appeared before the courts after the riots last year. Two-thirds | :43:12. | :43:20. | |
were convicted. 716 people were sentenced at magistrates' court. | :43:20. | :43:25. | |
37% of them served an immediate custodial sentence. It is higher | :43:25. | :43:30. | |
than the normal rate of sentencing for similar offences. Gerry and the | :43:30. | :43:34. | |
wry its swift justice was not always there and was extremely | :43:34. | :43:41. | |
punitive. -- we saw during the riots. Excessive use of custody was | :43:41. | :43:44. | |
used and that meant that people that could be dealt with in the | :43:44. | :43:50. | |
community were instead locked up for days or weeks on end in prison. | :43:50. | :43:54. | |
Swift justice is expensive and is not always there, it does not deal | :43:54. | :44:00. | |
fairly with the victims or defendants. There is widespread | :44:00. | :44:07. | |
support for more technology in our courts. But that is talking about | :44:07. | :44:17. | |
:44:17. | :44:22. | ||
efficiency Verses improvements. Lucinda Adam reporting. Let us put | :44:22. | :44:25. | |
some of those questions raised to Mike O'Brien, Chair of the Medway | :44:25. | :44:28. | |
Community Safety Partnership and member of Medway Council. They have | :44:28. | :44:36. | |
been piloting the virtual courts since 2009. | :44:36. | :44:42. | |
Are you pitting efficiency ahead of justice here? No, I do not think | :44:42. | :44:49. | |
we're. Certain cases are suitable, generally demand cases, it its | :44:49. | :44:52. | |
swift and short justice to the community. It is also very | :44:52. | :44:58. | |
important for Beckham -- for the victims as well. The need to see | :44:58. | :45:02. | |
justice happening. I personally have had no problems with the | :45:02. | :45:08. | |
virtual court system that I was a part of in my time as a magistrate. | :45:08. | :45:14. | |
Let us talk about the money. These are undeniably quicker but I'd be | :45:14. | :45:18. | |
cheaper? A Ministry of Justice report found the scheme cost more | :45:18. | :45:26. | |
money that an less. Technology increased the cost in each case by | :45:26. | :45:30. | |
�250 in that report their by us. If that wind across the country it | :45:30. | :45:38. | |
would be next to �12.1 million in ten years. Where is the value? | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
value it is the odd salary costs. For instance, the costs of police | :45:42. | :45:47. | |
officers. It has been since do that none mind that we have been running | :45:47. | :45:52. | |
this scheme in Kent. Over 2,200 people had been dealt with by the | :45:52. | :45:59. | |
virtual court. That is saved over 300 hours of as a man time. It does | :45:59. | :46:01. | |
mean that police officers can be back on the street in front line | :46:01. | :46:06. | |
services. But the Ministry of Justice pit those sums together. | :46:06. | :46:10. | |
They looked at how much it had saved and how much it had cost and | :46:10. | :46:15. | |
still come up with the figure of nearly 250 pence more. And then | :46:15. | :46:19. | |
they had to say they had not done them quickly enough and the needed | :46:19. | :46:29. | |
:46:29. | :46:30. | ||
to rush them, that hundred and �50 is an extra cost. -- �250. He in my | :46:30. | :46:34. | |
time as a magistrate looking at the keys as I had in front of me, it | :46:34. | :46:39. | |
was never suggested to me. Let us talk about a different sort of | :46:39. | :46:43. | |
justice. Was on the report that you're more likely to be convicted | :46:43. | :46:47. | |
and you're more likely to have a longer conviction if we look at the | :46:47. | :46:54. | |
swift justice and line -- in London and elsewhere. Is it worrying that | :46:54. | :46:58. | |
you get a different sort of justice if you go through this swift and | :46:58. | :47:04. | |
flexible court process? No, and indeed, I know that magistrates | :47:04. | :47:11. | |
throughout Kent itself will apply a strict judicial interest to each | :47:11. | :47:17. | |
case that they have in front of them. It makes not a little bit of | :47:17. | :47:20. | |
difference to the magistrates whether the defendant is on a | :47:20. | :47:27. | |
virtual link or in front of them in the court. The reality is, swifter | :47:27. | :47:33. | |
justice is more efficient justice, and initially there were hiccups, | :47:33. | :47:40. | |
there were hiccups with the sales being at distance away from the | :47:40. | :47:45. | |
interview room that they were using. All these problems have now been | :47:45. | :47:51. | |
overcome. In fact, it seems to me, but it is going from strength to | :47:51. | :47:56. | |
strength. We will be able to eventually be able to have | :47:56. | :48:01. | |
witnesses able to give witness statements and evidence under | :48:01. | :48:06. | |
virtual link. We have to leave it there, good Abyan the programme. | :48:06. | :48:12. | |
Let us make a simple distinction between that man in the remote TV | :48:12. | :48:16. | |
studio and you both sitting here. You would always rather do in | :48:16. | :48:19. | |
interviewed face-to-face in the studio with me than at down the | :48:19. | :48:26. | |
line. Can you see the comparison here between someone in is... We're | :48:26. | :48:31. | |
talking about freedom by it that you will link, is that there. | :48:31. | :48:34. | |
Sometimes it is more appropriate to do it down the line. And she that | :48:34. | :48:39. | |
he has not got an hour to come over to do this interview today. That is | :48:39. | :48:43. | |
why we have this much will interview. But you know you were at | :48:43. | :48:49. | |
a disadvantage in a television situation. Imagine if you justice | :48:49. | :48:54. | |
and freedom was at stake. These are really good ideas for a certain | :48:54. | :49:00. | |
crimes. Why is it needs must when we have falling crime? I think you | :49:00. | :49:06. | |
can take a specific one might drink driving. Someone gets pulled over | :49:06. | :49:10. | |
several times over the limit and can be brought to just that -- | :49:10. | :49:16. | |
brought to justice within hours. Justice delayed is justice denied. | :49:16. | :49:22. | |
You can deal with these situations straight away. What other sort of | :49:22. | :49:25. | |
offences do you think we should be sick we assume someone is guilty on | :49:25. | :49:31. | |
which is basically what you're saying. What happened about | :49:31. | :49:37. | |
innocent approving guilty? You are still going to court. But within 90 | :49:37. | :49:43. | |
minutes. As a magistrate you always under time limits. It is a balance, | :49:43. | :49:47. | |
you cannot have serious crimes done like this. But there are grounds | :49:47. | :49:52. | |
that can be dealt with. Are you not alarmed by anything your hair done | :49:52. | :49:56. | |
that report? The fact that it was costing more money and you get a | :49:56. | :49:59. | |
different conviction rate when you do these quick court hearings? | :49:59. | :50:04. | |
does not need to cost more money. The initial pilot cost more, but as | :50:04. | :50:08. | |
people get used to the system the money will come down. It will | :50:08. | :50:11. | |
become cheaper. I do not think it will deny justice because | :50:11. | :50:16. | |
magistrates are still bound by the same guidelines if it was not been | :50:16. | :50:22. | |
done remotely. There is still the same straitjacket on the justice. | :50:22. | :50:28. | |
Are you surprised to hear a Labour voice supporting a Coalition paper? | :50:28. | :50:33. | |
What the victims really want is fast justice. They want to see | :50:33. | :50:37. | |
something done quickly. The do not want the keys hanging on for months | :50:37. | :50:45. | |
and months. Thank you both very much. | :50:45. | :50:48. | |
Should it be easier for developers to get planning permission to build | :50:48. | :50:50. | |
new homes, new roads, new telecommunication masts? The latest | :50:50. | :50:52. | |
plans could see local authorities by-passed, with applications | :50:52. | :50:55. | |
referred up to to central government to speed up the process. | :50:55. | :50:58. | |
Where does that leave localism? And do we really need any more plots in | :50:58. | :51:01. | |
the South East that have planning permission but never get built on? | :51:01. | :51:04. | |
Let us start the debate with Georgia Wrighton from the Campaign | :51:04. | :51:11. | |
to Protect Rural England, she is in our Brighton studio. What is the | :51:11. | :51:17. | |
biggest problem with this new Bill? It is that it is being taken away | :51:17. | :51:21. | |
from central Government and we have been working very hard with local | :51:21. | :51:25. | |
authorities for sustainable environments locally. That is | :51:25. | :51:29. | |
looking his wit -- at weir environmental limits are. In the | :51:29. | :51:32. | |
proposal we are concerned that speed is supposed to be the same as | :51:32. | :51:38. | |
quality. For us that is not the case. We want to see well-planned | :51:38. | :51:43. | |
development in the right place. We want social needs met and | :51:43. | :51:48. | |
recognition of environmental limits. When that is taken away from an egg | :51:48. | :51:58. | |
:51:58. | :52:03. | ||
and corps leave local level of different things come first. Yapped | :52:03. | :52:06. | |
at some comeback against local authorities that just do not get | :52:06. | :52:12. | |
anything done. -- you have to see. I think so but people are saying | :52:12. | :52:15. | |
that speed is the most important thing and that is not always the | :52:15. | :52:25. | |
:52:25. | :52:26. | ||
case. We would quality developments in the right place. There is a | :52:26. | :52:31. | |
suggestion that the Government favours localism but they frown | :52:31. | :52:36. | |
upon it when communities want to see more recognition. We will pick | :52:36. | :52:42. | |
up on localism with the politicians, but from you, what you think about | :52:42. | :52:45. | |
building on green belt land if you read designate other land | :52:45. | :52:55. | |
:52:55. | :52:57. | ||
afterwards? What they're saying is there is other land available. | :52:57. | :53:02. | |
There are 400,000 existing planning permissions existing at only half | :53:02. | :53:07. | |
of them have been built on. But her plenty of sites that are still | :53:07. | :53:13. | |
available that have not been taken up yet. We want to see their first | :53:13. | :53:18. | |
policy reinstated also. We feel there is no need to build on green | :53:19. | :53:25. | |
belt land at the moment. Thank you very much. Is there any about | :53:25. | :53:29. | |
planning? The Local Government Association, Tracy Crouch, have | :53:29. | :53:34. | |
said that in the South East we have the highest number and percentage | :53:34. | :53:37. | |
of planning permissions gained and then no one turns up to do that | :53:37. | :53:42. | |
building work. There is a to bottle neck here with planning, is there? | :53:42. | :53:47. | |
That is what this bill is here to do. Planning has been granted but | :53:47. | :53:53. | |
developers have not be able to get on. Because of money. Sometimes it | :53:53. | :53:59. | |
is because of the complexities around planning. What we have seen | :53:59. | :54:03. | |
his permission being granted to build homes but due to some very | :54:03. | :54:12. | |
complex and associations around six it -- section 106 their development | :54:12. | :54:16. | |
had been stalled and the Government had to step in and renegotiate | :54:17. | :54:21. | |
between the council and the developers to ensure that the | :54:21. | :54:26. | |
process was met. And hundred and �50 million had been invested in | :54:26. | :54:29. | |
their sight. Plans would lead and there was a need for further | :54:29. | :54:36. | |
investment. It is about developers giving money to local regeneration | :54:36. | :54:41. | |
schemes to get the planning permission in the first place. | :54:41. | :54:44. | |
Bill moves away from these agreements. Do think that is a good | :54:44. | :54:50. | |
thing? All the sudden developers are being told that you do not have | :54:50. | :54:55. | |
to bother with the planning permissions as before. There is at | :54:55. | :54:59. | |
present -- there is a housing crisis particularly in the South | :54:59. | :55:04. | |
East. The age people that people can buy houses that is getting | :55:04. | :55:11. | |
older. He then needs to be a regional approach. You cannot just | :55:11. | :55:16. | |
do it on the local level. I came up on a train and there is lot is | :55:16. | :55:21. | |
based in the county. You can build sustainable communities that people | :55:21. | :55:25. | |
want to live in. The Government is not putting money any word that it | :55:25. | :55:29. | |
needs to be. It is also a good way of getting the economy moving by | :55:30. | :55:34. | |
giving money to these building firms. The Local Government | :55:34. | :55:37. | |
Association says that it is clear that planning is not the main | :55:37. | :55:42. | |
barrier to growth, these are just the main problem is access for at | :55:42. | :55:48. | |
first-time buyers and access finances for the builders. Is that | :55:48. | :55:52. | |
not talking about the programme -- army not to commit a problem that | :55:53. | :55:57. | |
does not exist? No, if we look at the work of the last Labour | :55:57. | :56:03. | |
Government, we have taken that a lot further and forwarded to | :56:03. | :56:09. | |
streamline planning. You were not wrong though, there are other | :56:09. | :56:13. | |
issues that need to be thought about. The Government are thinking | :56:13. | :56:17. | |
about that. Just briefly, how would you feel of the Government came to | :56:17. | :56:21. | |
you and said that they were going to put some development end and | :56:21. | :56:25. | |
they were going to back it in Chatham, be do not as your other | :56:25. | :56:29. | |
people or the council? That is not how what is going to work anyway. | :56:29. | :56:34. | |
The planning process still has to go forward. It would still be | :56:34. | :56:37. | |
referred to the Planning Inspectorate. It is about | :56:37. | :56:41. | |
streamlining so that the complexities of the planning | :56:41. | :56:46. | |
structures which is a long process sometimes will be streamlined. | :56:46. | :56:55. | |
will now move on. Now our regular round up of the | :56:55. | :56:58. | |
political week in the South East in 60 Seconds. Here is our Political | :56:58. | :57:08. | |
:57:08. | :57:09. | ||
This man said he was disgusted after his employment contract was | :57:09. | :57:14. | |
changed to cut his sick pay. He made the discovery when he needed | :57:14. | :57:17. | |
time off for his heart condition. The Government said that it should | :57:17. | :57:22. | |
be changed back. A Defence Minister spoke movingly | :57:22. | :57:28. | |
about a corporal who died in Afghanistan. Caroline Lucas asked | :57:28. | :57:33. | |
for immediate withdrawal of British troops. | :57:33. | :57:37. | |
South-east residents had been asked to call the hotline if the C ash | :57:37. | :57:42. | |
dieback in their area. It has been confirmed in Kent and Sussex. | :57:42. | :57:47. | |
David Green gave his opinion on Nadine Dory is decision to go to | :57:47. | :57:52. | |
Australia by it taking part on and a celebrity get near to appear. | :57:52. | :57:56. | |
will be struggling with it, but I will be voting loyally for her to | :57:56. | :58:06. | |
:58:06. | :58:15. | ||
What will talk like that and the moment. But more seriously, what | :58:15. | :58:20. | |
you think about the contract for one of her employees, at your local | :58:20. | :58:27. | |
MP, and the change of sick pay. is not something I can condone. You | :58:27. | :58:31. | |
have to look after your staff are very well. The media is successful | :58:31. | :58:36. | |
as you can be. My secretary had a heart attack last year and I sent | :58:36. | :58:41. | |
her flowers. I could not dream of messing around with a contract. | :58:41. | :58:46. | |
think this is a serious mistake. Unfortunately, I do. I hope that | :58:46. | :58:53. | |
the man is getting better now and I know that having a heart attack and | :58:53. | :58:58. | |
recovering is incredibly stressful. She should hang her head in shame. | :58:58. | :59:04. | |
If anybody was to get cut it was her and not Nadine Tories. I have a | :59:04. | :59:08. | |
say in the House this week. What would you say to if you saw her now. | :59:08. | :59:11. | |
I would say to it that she is making a mistake and she should | :59:11. | :59:17. | |
offer a full apology. And look at the contract and given the money he | :59:17. | :59:21. | |
deserves. Yes, and the cut the contract. It has been rewarded back | :59:21. | :59:27. | |
to the original wording. But why did she do it in the first place? | :59:27. | :59:33. | |
A brief word on Madine Tories. Would you ever take part in that? | :59:33. | :59:40. | |
You would like to stay there as long as possible? I think it was | :59:40. | :59:45. | |
completely misjudged. The response had to be a bit later. It will be | :59:45. | :59:50. | |
useful to the world of MPs and politics perhaps. What is she like? | :59:50. | :59:54. | |
I do not really know her very well. I do not think that politicians | :59:54. | :00:00. | |
should really go on reality shows. Why not? Because we have a job to | :00:00. | :00:04. | |
do. The taxpayer pays me to represent them not to go to the | :00:04. | :00:08. | |
jungle. We will remember that if you ever take part in one of those | :00:08. | :00:12. |