Children have been unlawfully handed criminal convictions in a fast-track justice system in which magistrates sit behind closed doors, the Evening Standard can reveal.
Single justice procedure courts are allowed by law to handle only criminal cases involving defendants who have turned 18.
But exclusive Evening Standard research has uncovered more than 100 cases of children aged 16 and 17 being prosecuted in the controversial courts process.
HM Courts and Tribunals admitted mistakes had been made within the secretive court system, with a spokesman saying: “Human errors are rare and we act immediately once issues are brought to our attention.”
Following the Standard’s investigation, an internal court probe uncovered 124 cases of children being unlawfully prosecuted in an SJP court since the start of 2023.
In one case, a girl was prosecuted at Medway magistrates’ court for not paying just £5.84 to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Her age was spelled out in court papers, yet she was convicted in the fast-track court regardless.
“As this is my first car, I purchased it before my 17th birthday and housed it in a garage off the road,” she wrote. “I wrongly assumed that I didn’t need to do anything until I needed to get it on the road.
"I didn’t receive any warning letter and only realised my mistake when I received the ‘immediate action needed’ letter on July 8 which is when I immediately paid the car tax fee, but didn’t realise I needed to pay the court settlement also. I was not clear on the requirement and didn’t receive any letters notifying me until it was too late.”
Cases where defendants were unlawfully convicted have been reopened as a result of the Standard investigation, while monthly checks by senior legal managers have been implemented to try to avoid future incidents and a memo was issued to all magistrates’ legal advisers spelling out the problem.
The memo also revealed that red alerts on cases involving defendants under the age of 18 — indicating they should be instantly referred to open court — have been missed by magistrates and legal advisers.
Despite efforts to stamp it out, the problem is apparently continuing.
Child defendants were prosecuted and sentenced by SJP magistrates in the last two weeks. In early December, an SJP magistrate convicted a 17-year-old boy from Ashford in Kent for keeping an unlicensed vehicle despite clear evidence that the defendant was a child.
In mitigation, the boy explained the car was new and he had just “become legally old enough to become a learner driver”, he gave his date of birth to the court, and added: “Being this is my first car, I was not aware I was supposed to pay tax while it was stored on my drive.”
These mistakes place a fresh spotlight on the single justice procedure, which critics call “conveyor belt justice” amid fears that criminal convictions are handed out swiftly without close attention to the details.
Last week, the Standard revealed a major flaw in the system, with letters from the elderly, the vulnerable, and the sick going unseen by prosecutors in the fast-track courts.
In SJP, a single magistrate sits alone to decide on minor offences including speeding, not paying for a train fare, TV licence evasion, and anti-social behaviour.
The Standard has found more than £3,500 in fines unlawfully issued in the last six months to defendants whose ages are recorded as being between 15 and 17.
In August, HM Courts and Tribunal Service said the SJP system “allows magistrates’ courts to deal with minor offences in a way that’s quicker, more straightforward and more efficient, while still being fair, transparent and rigorous.”
