Former Met commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson visits British court The criminal justice system, he added, "is slow and expensive... more designed to suit the needs of its constituent elements rather than the citizens it should serve." A day in court seven at Westminster's new magistrates" court, officially opened in June by Ken Clarke, then the justice secretary, left Sir Paul in no doubt that while the £60million building was impressive, the system itself was deeply flawed. He questioned whether courts were offering value for money. Here was a court bulging with cases and yet proceedings did not begin until 10.40am. "This is dead time," said Sir Paul. There will be all sorts of reasons for the delay but you cannot help but get the impression this is an expensive facility which doesn't seem to comply with new systems of lean processes and minimum cost. A court official explained to one defendant - an alleged drink driver - that he should have a coffee and come back much later because his file was missing. Two other files were also missing. When proceedings finally began, they commenced with the case of a West End rickshaw driver accused of obstructing traffic. "What is he doing here?" wondered Sir Paul. This is a victimless crime and suitable to be dealt with outside a court. At one stage in the afternoon the court came to a grinding halt for almost an hour, the only sound that of a loudly snoring interpreter - all at a cost to the taxpayer. Sir Paul also had criticisms of the use of the Human Rights Act by a Polish offender, who argued that to send him back to jail in his homeland would put him in danger. The use of the Act in such a case, said Sir Paul, appeared "frivolous" and "exploitative." He also showed concern - as did Daphne Wickham, the deputy chief magistrate - that a suspected shoplifter of no fixed abode had been given bail at the time of the alleged offence and then had not appeared in court. There were other areas of concern. The new building had only one way in and one way out, according to security guards, so offenders and victims had to mingle. A social worker sat in court for two hours waiting for one case. Sir Paul despaired at the violent thug, with a history of offending, who terrorised a taxi driver and walked out of court with a night-time curfew; and of the hopeless father-of-two caught trying to use a child's rail ticket. He had only praise for the two district judges, paid to sit as magistrates, who tried to run the court with utmost efficiency despite the volume of cases. "You have to be impressed with the building, the technology and the professional bench but you still have to come back to the conclusion it is still bureaucratic, chaotic on occasions and does not represent the best use of the public purse," he said. The annual budget for magistrates" courts is about £230million. There were 432,311 criminal proceedings completed in magistrates" courts in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2012. Of 43,110 trials recorded in the same period, 44 per cent were reported as "effective" - meaning they began on schedule and reached a conclusion. Almost one in five - 17 per cent - were "ineffective," meaning they did not begin when due and had to be re-listed. A further 39 per cent were "cracked," meaning that on the day of the trial the defendant offers an "acceptable" plea, maybe to a lesser charge, or the prosecution offers no evidence. In other words, well over half of scheduled trials did not take place as planned. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "CPS prosecutors deal with a large number of cases every day and we are confident the vast majority of them go ahead without any unnecessary delay. We work hard with our criminal justice partners to make sure deadlines are met, and are committed to dealing with cases as expeditiously as possible. Where there are delays we will look into the cause to see if there are any lessons to be learned. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "We are already taking forward reforms which will benefit victims and ensure more offenders are quickly punished with a sentence that fits their crime. These include maximising the use of video-link technology, improving the way agencies work together, removing bureaucracy and providing value for money. Recent court statistics show that the timeliness of cases dealt with in the courts has remained consistent over time but we want to improve this. A day at Westminster magistrates court 29, from Kennington, south London. Leal, a Colombian national, admitted obstructing a West End street by stopping his rickshaw in the road on Aug 25. He had no previous convictions and had only started working as a rickshaw driver for the Olympics. SENTENCE: Conditional discharge and £85 costs. 29, a father-of-four from Deptford, south-east London Stuart London, who has a history of violent offending, including a two-and-a-half year jail term for wounding, terrified a black-cab driver by jumping on his bonnet, thumping his windscreen and ripping a wing mirror off after claiming the taxi had tried to run him down. London was Tasered by a police officer who had raced to the scene from the nearby American embassy. London pleaded guilty to criminal damage. SENTENCE: To remain under curfew from 9pm to 5am for the next six months and to pay £400 compensation. London, who is on benefits, agreed to pay £20 a fortnight. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "How depressing that this man is paying a fine to the state out of money from the state. He has committed a violent, thuggish offence which is consistent with his history. 52, from Poland Oplatkowski was fighting extradition to Poland, having been charged with fraud. He was arrested in May and has been in custody since. He said his return would infringe the Human Rights Act and he faced inhuman treatment in a Polish jail. JUDGMENT: Extradition. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "The whole application of the Human Rights Act makes you ask, is this frivolous? And if it is frivolous, what is the riposte to stop people making these frivolous claims? 32, father-oftwo, living in a hostel in Barking, east London Oluwole pleaded guilty to using a child's rail ticket at Euston station on Aug 2 to avoid a full fare of £4.30. He has indefinite leave to remain in the UK but his application for British citizenship is threatened. SENTENCE: 12 months' conditional discharge. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "It is a mess, a sad tale. I am not sure what the answer is. 32, from Ilford, east London Mr Weekes is charged with robbing a man of a mobile phone on April 17. He is not in court and there is confusion about whether he knew he was to attend. A probation officer, in court all morning, says that Mr Weekes has an appointment with a probation officer later in the week. The court has three addresses for him. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "It doesn't feel a completely joined up system between probation and prosecution." 19, from Shepherd's Bush, west London May pleaded guilty to driving a car without insurance and without a full licence. Police officers found cannabis in the car, although May was not charged with any drug offences. SENTENCE: 12-month conditional discharge, a driving disqualification for six months and £85 costs. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "This man was prepared to drive without a licence so is he really going to be bothered by a ban?" 22, of no fixed abode D'Cruz is charged with stealing £87 worth of clothing from Primark in Oxford Street on Sept 1. Magistrate Daphne Wickham comments that "if you arrest people with no fixed abode and give them unconditional bail it is hardly surprising they don't turn up." SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "If the guidelines say this man can be bailed, you have to question those guidelines." 26, from Hayes, west London Khalid was charged with drink driving after being stopped in his Volkswagen Golf in Piccadilly on Aug 26. He was marginally over the drinkdrive limit. SENTENCE: One-year mandatory driving ban, a £400 fine, £15 victims' surcharge and £85 costs. It is a matter for Thames Valley to decide his future but clearly this is going to be very damaging for him. But when you compare it to the other guy [Deniro May], he walked out being told not to do what he already shouldn't be doing, while this man has been fined significantly more money, and will lose more in terms of employment. 40, from Maida Hill, west London Mr Dakkash is charged with "touching" an under-age girl in a sexual way. He is bailed for a committal. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "The social worker has been in court since 10.15am. You wouldn't say this is efficient. 19, a Lithuanian national living in Wisbech, Cambs Kontrauskas admitted possession of a knife, which he was carrying after allegedly being threatened by a gang. SENTENCE: 21 days' imprisonment - the minimum, then extradition. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "What message does that send? 57, from Roehampton, south-west London Hagler-Botsaris admitted being drunk and disorderly at King's Cross station on Aug 28 and racially abusing a police officer. SENTENCE: £105 fine, £85 costs, £15 victim surcharge and £50 compensation. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "I wonder how many cases today have been caused by the problems of alcohol." 34, from Thornton Heath, south London Brender pleaded guilty to criminal damage at Clapham Junction rail station, after breaking a fire alarm, and racially abusing an officer who arrested him. SENTENCE: Banned from any pub for 12 months and fined £110, a £15 victims' surcharge and £85 costs. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "The magistrate has done as much as he can possibly do." 41, from Battersea, south London Barbosa, a hairdresser from Brazil, is charged with four counts of possession with intent to supply drugs. He pleads guilty but the prosecutor wants him sent to crown court for sentencing. 44, from Harrow, north-west London Singham, a convicted benefits fraudster, was arrested for non-payment of a £56,000 confiscation order. His lawyer argues that his client was not aware of the order. SENTENCE: The magistrate concludes he did know and jails him for 639 more days. SIR PAUL'S VERDICT: "That was pretty impressive.