Online Motoring pleas go National
Industry News : 19 March 2015
It announced the national extension of the ‘Make your plea online’ service, piloted by Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ court, will be rolled out across England and Wales in March.
The service allows people who have been notified of a prosecution, for offences such as no insurance or speeding, to make a plea at any time up to the day before the court makes a decision.
Entering a plea takes about 10 minutes, and although defendants are offered the option of pleading ‘not guilty’, the site announces that a guilty plea can be rewarded by a 33% cut in fines.
Last year the courts dealt with 4.5 million motoring offences. Shailesh Vara, courts minister, said that the service is ‘reducing case time and costs for the courts and the police, ensuring that they can focus on the most complex cases. It makes it easy, simple and quick for people to access justice’.
This service is the latest initiative being rolled out by the Government to modernise the court system, and with £160 million being invested in I.T systems it is hoped the courts reliance on paper based documents will be a thing of the past.
