Nottinghamshire police could fast-track minor crimes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-22582596

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The chief constable of Nottinghamshire police said minor crimes could be fast-tracked through the courts.

It comes in the wake of a successful trial which will see specialist traffic courts established nationwide to cut delays in the justice system.

Chief Constable Chris Eyre said some cases can take months to complete and everyone involved wants to speed the process up.

It will involve crimes where a high percentage of defendants plead guilty.

The dedicated traffic courts were piloted in several counties around the country including Nottinghamshire and police said the legal process had been "simplified."

'Guilty pleas'

Experts said it freed up court time for more serious cases.

Off the back of the trial, Mr Eyre said the force is now considering how it could be implemented with other less serious offences.

"We are looking at other potential cases that take place in the magistrates' court where we get high levels of guilty plea and are exploring the opportunity for doing that at the moment," he said.

"That might take us into other areas of criminal offending such as criminal damage and other offences. But that's all got to be met through with our colleagues in government."

He added that any changes to the criminal justice system would have to be done with the support of government ministers.