Fast-track justice planned for Olympics

LONDON: London courts will work extended sessions during this summer’s Olympics to deal instantly with anyone committing offences linked to the Games, The Times reported Tuesday.

Courts will sit from 8:00 am (0700 GMT) and will not wrap up until 7:30 pm to ensure they deal with defendants within 24 hours of arrest, the public prosecutor told the newspaper.

“Many people who come to the Olympics won’t live here, so it is important that if offences are committed, we act quickly,” said Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London.

“People who commit offences on Tuesday will be in court on Wednesday... we are learning the lessons of the summer riots,” she added.

Britain was caught out last year when widespread disorder led to a backlog in the country’s justice system.

The proposed measures, which will also include the creation of a new “Olympics offence” category, were drawn up by the public prosecutor, police and other criminal justice agencies.

It is hoped the move will deter protesters such as Trenton Oldfield, who is still awaiting trial after disrupting the Oxford-Cambridge boat race in a protest against elitism. AFP

Fast-track justice planned for Olympics

LONDON: London courts will work extended sessions during this summer’s Olympics to deal instantly with anyone committing offences linked to the Games, The Times reported Tuesday.

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