UK law associations expressed concern Monday over the suggestion that 24-hour “night courts” should be established to deal with the mass riots throughout the UK, emphasizing that solicitors are already overworked and underpaid. The (CBA), Magistrates’ Association, and UK Law Society all expressed concern over the potential plan.

In an open letter to the Ministry of Justice, the Chair of the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association (CLSA) Chair, Daniel Bonich, said:

… Since 2011 more than a third of criminal legal aid solicitors have left the profession and a third of firms have closed. Legal Aid rates … have fallen more than 30% in real terms at a time when the cost of living, and the costs of running a business have ballooned. Firms have neither the capacity nor the resources to help staff 24-hour court sessions, even in the short term. They cannot afford to operate in shift patterns which means solicitors to work 24 hours, on top of their 24-hour police station duty… Our members are not willing or able to prop up a failing system.

Bonich closed the letter with alternative suggestions, such as immediate delivery of the rest of the Criminal Legal Aid Recommendations.

The Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales said on Monday, that it remains “strongly opposed to any attempt to extend court operating hours. The Criminal Bar is already working at maximum capacity.” The Magistrates’ Association stated that magistrates would step up where needed. However, it emphasized that there are staffing shortages:

For over a decade now, the criminal justice system has lacked the investment it sorely needed. We have long called for a longer-term and sustained investment in the entire criminal justice system and unfortunately, it is during crises like this, that the chronic underinvestment in the system is laid bare.

The plan to extend court hours follows violent riots taking place in multiple cities over the past week, with rioters targeting minority populations in the UK including the Islamic community, refugees and asylum seekers, and ethnic minorities.

The riots were sparked by the July 29 Southport Stabbings where a 17-year-old boy killed three children and injured five others. Online rumors circulated that the perpetrator was an Islamic terrorist and a refugee, inciting riots to break out. The violent riots have continued to spread throughout various UK cities and towns.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday delivered a statement condemning the riots as “far-right thuggery” and assured the public that the police will be making arrests. “The police will be making arrests. Individuals will be held on remand. Charges will follow. And convictions will follow,” the Prime Minister said. The government suggested the implementation of 24-hour courts in order to deliver justice to the perpetrators of the far-right violence and riots. Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, added, “I am determined that we will act swiftly and robustly, giving the courts maximum ability to pass sentences that reflect what has occurred.”