Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner calls on Government to increase funding for Ministry of Justice

Barber, whose area covers Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, has urged the Government to take bold action in its spending review, to be detailed on Wednesday June 11.

The Commissioner, along with his colleague Donna Jones, who covers Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, has warned that a lack of funding for the department could undermine the whole criminal justice system and put public safety at risk.

“The system is buckling,” Commissioner Barber said.

“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.

“We 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.”

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies 73,105 court cases were awaiting trial as of September 2024, nearly double the backlog of 2019.

In 2024 alone 16,231 prisoners were let out before the end of their sentences as part of the Government’s early release scheme to ease overcrowding.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to use the Spending Review tomorrow to announce funding increases for the National Health Service, schools and defence, along with a number of infrastructure projects.

According to the BBC, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper fixed a deal with Reeves on Monday June 9, following public calls from police chiefs for more money.

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