Plea Bargaining in a Context of Budget Cuts: The Example of England and Wales

Abstract

Historically, guilty pleas have always been considered a way of rationalising criminal procedures. Recent budget cuts have pushed the Crown Prosecution Service to find new solutions to save money. Two main saving measures could potentially affect plea bargaining in practice: maximising the use of paralegal staff and the Early Guilty Plea Scheme. Based on empirical observations and interviews, this paper examines the practical and theoretical consequences of these money-saving measures on plea bargaining.