Amending the caution policy for simple possession of cannabis and the introduction of fixed penalties for minor offences will be part of “a diversion from prosecution” focus by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of National Security, according to Attorney-General Trevor Moniz.

Mr Moniz outlined the plan while reporting on the Ministry of Legal Affairs’ initiatives for 2015-2016, saying legal reform was a key priority.

While describing criminal justice reform on Friday, he said the Ministry would work on Throne Speech commitments.

“We will work with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Bermuda Police Service to amend the formal caution policy to permit greater discretion on the part of officers when dealing with first-time offenders who might otherwise have been charged with simple possession of cannabis,” he said.

“The Government will also examine the ramifications of fixed penalty notices for certain minor offences.

“Fixed penalties allow Police to issue on-the-spot fines to persons committing an offence, giving them the opportunity to pay the fine out of court.

“Fixed penalties can ease the burden on the criminal justice system through the elimination of unnecessary court appearances.

“Other diversionary options under consideration include the possibility of conditional cautions and deferred prosecution agreements, both of which are recent innovations coming out of the UK.”

Mr Moniz told MPs that during coming legislative sessions, a key priority of the Ministry would be legal reform, which should lead to cost savings through the processing of cases and legal aid.

“Our first plank of reform will concern the criminal justice system in Bermuda,” he said. “A commitment [was] made in Government’s recent Throne Speech to review criminal procedure for the purpose of modernising the administration of justice to make it more efficient and effective.

“Such reform took an important first step recently with the introduction of the Criminal Procedure Rules in 2013.

“Those rules mandated a criminal justice system which abides by an overriding objective to deal with cases justly.

“This includes acquitting the innocent and convicting the guilty; dealing with the prosecution and defence fairly; recognising the rights of the defendant; respecting the interests of witnesses, victims and jurors; and dealing with the case efficiently and expeditiously. The Ministry’s aim in the coming months is to give the Bench the tools needed to enforce their overriding objective to do justice. Much of our criminal legislation is based on Victorian-era precedents and is no longer fit for purpose in the 21st century.

“Criminal trials have become unjustifiably delayed, which in turn affects fairness. We have seen complex trials last many weeks. This state of affairs places considerable pressure on the public purse, and we will be looking to reforms which have been tried and tested overseas and adjusting them to the Bermudian context.

“When these reforms come into force, they will require a major shift in the culture of all who practice in the criminal justice system, bar and bench alike. Once given these new tools, judges and magistrates presiding over criminal trials should take full advantage of them to actively manage trials in a manner which is fair to all.”

The Attorney-General told MPs the Chief Justice had discussed “Bermuda’s relatively high levels of incarceration”.

“Honourable Members will note the success of our electronic monitoring device programme, also popularly known as ‘ankle bracelets’,” he said. “These are available to those on bail and on probation. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of spaces that are being occupied in our correctional system, which in turn, feeds further savings into the budgets of both the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of National Security.”