Victims ‘suffering’ as crown court backlog hits record high

There were 66,547 outstanding cases in crown courts, according to quarterly Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data for April to June published on Thursday.

The backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales has reached the highest level on record and is continuing to rise, figures show (Nick Ansell/PA) (PA Archive)

The backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales has reached the highest level on record and is continuing to rise, figures show.

There were 66,547 outstanding cases in crown courts, according to quarterly Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data for July to September published on Thursday.

This is up 3% on the previous three-month period and the highest figure since records began almost a decade ago in 2014.

The latest management information indicates the backlog continued to grow, with the number of cases coming to crown courts still exceeding those completed in October, the department said.

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, said the figures were of “grave concern” and that “no victim should be expected to wait years before their case gets to court” as she called for “urgent and creative intervention” to address the “crisis”.

The Law Society of England and Wales warned the “fundamental right to access to justice is at stake without urgent investment into criminal justice.”

But the MoJ said crown courts were now dealing with more cases than at any point since 2019 and the backlog is expected to rise as a result of higher caseloads.

I am concerned that chronic and unacceptable delays are becoming ingrained in the system. This must never be normalised nor tolerated

Baroness Newlove

The Government previously set a target of reducing the crown court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025.

Baroness Newlove said the figures suggest “wider systemic problems in our justice system”, adding that it cannot solely be attributed to disruption caused by the pandemic and last year’s barristers’ strike.

“I am concerned that chronic and unacceptable delays are becoming ingrained in the system. This must never be normalised nor tolerated,” she said.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said the criminal justice system was “withering at the root due to decades of underinvestment and the government’s failure to tackle the crisis”, adding that delays in court were being compounded by a “chronic shortage” of lawyers and judges, buildings in “disrepair” and “overrun” prisons.

Some 17,790 cases have been outstanding for a year or more, representing 28% of the backlog.

Meanwhile, the number of magistrate court cases waiting to be dealt with has also risen by 3% compared with the previous quarter and stands at 352,945.

Tana Adkin KC, chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, said the public needed to have “faith” in the justice system, adding: “Delays in bringing cases to trial are symptomatic of an underfunded criminal justice system with poor regard for the people needed to bring cases to a just conclusion.”

Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood branded it a “new low for this failing Government”, adding: “While the Government continues to outdo its own failures, it is victims up and down this country that are suffering because of this inept leadership.

People who break the law must face justice, and these figures show crown courts are now dealing with the highest number of cases than at any point since 2019

Ministry of Justice

“It is a basic requirement in a democracy that justice is delivered, and the law enforced, in a timely way. So it’s no wonder people have lost faith in the system when it takes years to even go to trial in some of the most serious offences, including rape.”

An MoJ spokeswoman said: “People who break the law must face justice, and these figures show crown courts are now dealing with the highest number of cases than at any point since 2019.

“This is a direct result of our decisive action to let courts run at full throttle – like lifting the cap on the number of court sitting days, keeping Nightingale Courts open and investing more in our buildings to deliver a modern and effective justice system, including in magistrates’ courts where more than 90 per cent of criminal cases are dealt with.”