A letter sent to Justice Secretary, David Lammy, has urged him to reconsider proposals to cut jury trials in the Crown Court. Jointly signed by more than 30 organisations across the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector, it says the reforms will undermine justice for women and reduce public confidence in the criminal justice system.

The letter is in response to government proposals to remove jury trials for offences likely to result in sentences of less than three years. More serious offences, including rape, would continue to be tried by jury.

The letter cautions that removing juries could disproportionately disadvantage women defendants and those from marginalised groups. It highlights concerns about representation within the judiciary, noting that women make up only 36% of Crown Court circuit judges, and only 10% are from an ethnic minority.

Research has previously suggested that, whilst conviction rates in jury trials are reasonably consistent for white defendants and those from racialised groups, there is evidence that when sentencing defendants in the Crown Court, judges are more likely to give a prison sentence to defendants from ethnic minority backgrounds than white defendants. This raises concerns about the potential for bias in judge-only trials.

The proposals to cut jury trials come amid significant backlogs in the Crown Court, with the caseload estimated to reach 100,000 by 2028. Delays have had a particular impact on victims of sexual offences, with around six in ten complainants in rape cases reportedly withdrawing from prosecutions.

Lammy has argued that cutting jury trials has the potential to reduce delays and improve outcomes for victims, including those affected by VAWG. However, the letter cautions there is no clear evidence that limiting jury trials would reduce court backlogs, warning that such reforms risk diverting attention from deeper systemic issues. Instead, they call for sustained investment and structural reform to address the ‘complex, underlying causes of VAWG.’ The letter expresses concern that, rather than improving outcomes for victims, removing trial by jury risks eroding public trust in the justice system.

It is not the first time concerns of this nature have been raised, with critics long warning that cutting jury trials will ‘inevitably’ lead to miscarries of justice.

Following a consultation, the Law Commission recently rejected the proposal to remove trial by jury in sexual offence cases, concluding  there is no ‘sufficient evidence base to support removing juries in serious sexual offences prosecutions.’ They received strong opposition to this idea due to the risk it would lead to ‘a loss of public confidence and perceived legitimacy.’

Violence against women and girls accounts for a substantial proportion of recorded crime, with an estimated 20% of all police-recorded offences falling within this category. In the year ending March 2023, 103,135 rape and serious sexual offences were recorded.