As I am not in charge of prosecutions, although from time to time some people seem to think I am, I have to bear in mind the negative effects of a substantial time intervening between the commission, detection and arrest of an offender and that offender's criminal trial. This is not a matter confined to the Central Criminal Court but since the Central Criminal Court deals, at the moment, with serious cases involving murder and rape, any substantial delay between the apprehension and charging of an offender and their trial has obvious social and political implications.