"The system is buckling" - Hampshire and Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioners call for more Ministry of Justice funding

Donna Jones and Matthew Barber, PCCs for Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Thames Valley respectively, have called for the government to increase funding in the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) ahead of its spending review on Wednesday, June 11.

The MOJ oversees courts, prisons, probation and victim services and the PCCs believe the lack of investment has led to court backlogs and services becoming overwhelmed. While policing has received funding to reduce crime, Jones and Barber want to see more investment in the system as a whole in order for any changes to be sustainable.

As of September 2024 there were 73,105 court cases awaiting trial, while 16,231 prisoners were released early under the government’s early release scheme in 2024 to ease overcrowding.

The joint statement said: “The system is buckling. Policing is just one agency. We cannot continue to starve the criminal justice system of resources and expect the public to have confidence in it. Justice doesn’t end when an offender is arrested. It ends when a victim sees a resolution, and when rehabilitation or punishment has been delivered properly. Right now, that cycle is broken.

“Officers are working tirelessly to arrest dangerous individuals. They are tackling violent crime, child abuse, domestic violence and organised crime, but too many of these cases are falling apart because courts are clogged, evidence is lost, or legal processes fail due to under-resourcing. Victims are left in limbo, and in some cases, they’re denied justice altogether.

“Releasing thousands of prisoners early and proposing lighter sentences in the community may relieve pressure, but only if community supervision, rehabilitation services and offender management teams are properly funded. If not, we are simply pushing risk into the public domain and onto overstretched police, probation and support services.

“I support meaningful rehabilitation. Not everyone needs to be behind bars, but for those who do, especially serious sexual and violent offenders, prison is essential for public protection. Where rehabilitation is right, it must be resourced and monitored. At the moment, neither is happening to the standard the public expects.

“We cannot continue to treat justice as a patchwork of agencies. It’s a single, interdependent system. When one part breaks down, it affects every other part – and most importantly, it fails the public we all serve.”

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