Judge says Northampton courts could save 'thousands' by using recorded delivery for key documents

A Northampton judge has said that courts could save 'thousands and thousands' in costs if police used recorded delivery for certain documents, after an appellant successfully overturned a conviction thanks to a lost letter.

The remarks came after a taxi driver from Northampton successfully appealed their conviction of failing to give information relating to the identification of a driver.

The charge was raised after the taxi driver's personal car was involved in a collision back in 2020 and had subsequently failed to stop.

While the appellant was able to provide documents in court that elected their partner as the driver on the night of the collision, they claimed the police's request for that information had been lost in the post. This resulted in the conviction and six points on the taxi driver's licence which, they said, could have cost them their job.

His Honour Judge Mooncey, presiding, remarked that other cases had also come before the court, only to be overturned due to issues of paperwork not being, or claiming not to have been received. This, he suggested, was leading to a large amount of unnecessary costs that might outweigh the cost of more rigorous posting.

His Honour said: "The test we have to apply is on the balance of probabilities and so we have to give the benefit of the doubt.

"We've seen evidence that speaks to the partner being the driver at the time. We have seen evidence that lists the appellant's partner as the insured driver of the vehicle.

"So the conviction and the points will be put aside.

"I would say that this is not the first case that we have dealt with concerning this and the administration system should consider whether registered mail, with recorded delivery and requiring a signature, would save a lot of cases coming before the courts and save thousands and thousands."

However, representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Northamptonshire Police have countered this statement, saying that the majority of mail is delivered successfully and does not require the added expense of '£3 to £4' per letter that such a move would incur.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “It is very rare for such paperwork to get lost in the post. For the force to consider changing to recorded delivery would increase our postal costs significantly and also have huge implications on the wider policing budget.”

Northamptonshire Police has no plans to change the way its post is sent.