Some 90% of firms are 'generally pessimistic' about the state of the criminal justice sector in Britain, according to a survey by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Just four of the 40 sample firms were satisfied with the state of the sector, the UK Law Society Gazette reports.

Ageing

Almost a quarter said that the criminal law sector is an ageing profession and that not enough young solicitors are going in to it.

The SRA said: “Firms and practitioners are leaving the sector and are not being replaced. This naturally has implications for our priority risk of access to justice.

“A ready supply of practitioners is vital for the criminal justice system to operate, both at police stations and at court.”

Speed and cost

The criminal justice system values speed and cost, at the expense of justice, and its lawyers are seen in a ‘negative light’ say other respondents.

The report shows that while 49% of all England and Wales solicitors are between 25 and 30, only 31% of criminal defence solicitors are in that age bracket.

And 11% of criminal solicitors are 55-64 years of age, compared to 7% of all solicitors.

Issue

The SRA commented: “The diversity data suggests that the lack of new entrants is an issue not just for our sample of firms but for criminal practice generally.”

There has been ‘steep decline’ in the sector since 2012 when the number of firms fell by 12% in three years.