Everyone except the victims is to blame here. The courts should have done better, but in the UK these people would have been unable to get a public defender and unable to afford their own defence either. So many would have plead guilty and others had to try and manage the defence themselves. The result is predictable.
A wider question is why no one asked why so many people with the same job were being charged and convicted/pleading guilty. Fraud is a rare crime and rarely prosecuted. So many Cases in one profession is fishy all by itself.
> A wider question is why no one asked why so many people with the same job were being charged and convicted/pleading guilty
Indeed. You would hope at some point someone would ask why so many have "stolen" money, but yet the actual money has never been located in any account, almost as if the money just disappeared, or never existed in the first place. Hmmm.
Exactly. Some people went bankrupt trying to pay back large sums they "owed", they had no apparent assets, no apparent extravagant expenses and yet everyone convinced they have a tonne of cash somewhere...
Particularly given that, on the theory that the software was correct, the post office was able to reliably detect the kind of fraud they claim was going on and make the supposed fraudsters pay the money back.
For a crown court, anyone with an adjusted household income over £22345 is expected to pay in part. Anyone with a household income (unadjusted) over £37500 gets no help. You can also be caught if you have more than about 30k in assets (including equity in your home so anyone who owns in the southeast is screwed).
I only discovered this 2y ago when I was arrested. My solicitor in the police station explained he was free but only on that day. I'd have to pay in advance if the police choose to prosecute (they didn't, I was released without charge).
A lot of people don't realise how expensive it is to be innocent in the UK sadly.
Quite - the criminal justice system is woefully underfunded and COVID has only exacerbated the problem. The means testing leaves many people facing no choice but to plead guilty or risk bankruptcy.
I've replied above more fully but legal defence is a means tested benefit and the test is very restrictive even for the crown court. Household incomes over 38k mean you pay the whole cost. Or if you have more than about 30k in home equity you also pay the whole cost.
>"but in the UK these people would have been unable to get a public defender and unable to afford their own defence either"
So maybe the UK should spend less time writing horror stories about other "undemocratic" countries and concentrate on their own sorry state of human rights.
What had happen should be impossible in a "democratic western country that respects human rights". Last time I checked they count themselves as one.
You are getting downvoted, but I think this is a fair point - most folks are busy being patriotic or whatever and do not realise that UK is basically turning into Russia with recent corruption scandal
A wider question is why no one asked why so many people with the same job were being charged and convicted/pleading guilty. Fraud is a rare crime and rarely prosecuted. So many Cases in one profession is fishy all by itself.