Petty crime involving Northern Ireland youth can take up to nine months to come to trial. This is one of the stark facts driving Justice Minister David Ford to introduce “statutory time limits” to clear up outstanding cases in the youth court.
A teenager arrested for shop-lifting may not see the inside of a court for the best part of a year. This is typical of the justice system at a number of levels in Northern Ireland. Mr Ford is now taking steps to unblock this inertia.
Mr Ford has been outlining his strategy to me:
