News Release

For Immediate Release
October 24, 2008

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McGuinty Government Selects Three Courthouses For Next Phase Of Justice On Target Strategy

NEWS

The Ontario Courts of Justice in Newmarket, North York and London have been chosen to begin the province's intensive, sustained effort to move cases through the justice system faster.

This is the next step in the Justice on Target strategy, to reduce unproductive criminal court delays and appearances by making more effective use of justice resources.

These courthouses have been designated as "action sites" to improve the pace of justice. Teams, led by Regional Senior Justice Bruce Durno and Senior Crown Attorney Ken Anthony, will work to quickly identify, test and implement new ideas.

Successful initiatives will then be rolled out in other courthouses across the province to help achieve the target of a 30 per cent reduction in the provincial average of days and court appearances needed to complete a criminal case. Progress towards the targets in each courthouse will be measured and reported online.

QUOTE

"Our expert teams will be working closely with all justice participants in these three courthouses initially - but the goal is to identify, test and implement approaches that will make criminal justice faster province-wide," said Attorney General Chris Bentley. "We're committed to making the justice system more effective for everyone - victims, witnesses, and the public who pay for it."

QUICK FACTS

• With 600,000 charges entering the system every year, saving one minute per charge could save seven years of court time.
• In 1992, it took an average of 4.3 court appearances to complete a criminal case. By last year, this figure had more than doubled to 9.2 appearances.
• In 1992, cases were in the system for an average of 115 days. By last year, the number had jumped to 205 days.

LEARN MORE

Read more about the Justice on Target strategy.

View criminal court statistics in your local community through Justice on Target.

Read more about the Justice on Target Expert Advisory Panel.