UK criminal court backlog hits record levels
The UK Crown Court backlogs have grown to its highest level on record, as cases have more than doubled in under four years.
According to criminal court statistics published today, there are currently 352,945 outstanding cases in the magistrates’ courts, up 3 per cent on the previous quarter.
The backlog is spiralling upwards each quarter the data is published, posing a real issue to the Government’s ambitious target to reduce the Crown Court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025.
According to the Law Society, the number of outstanding cases where individuals have been remanded in custody for more than two years has risen to 1,063. The society noted that this is a 932 per cent increase in 3 years, a record-breaking peak.
Commenting on the data, Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “The criminal justice system is withering at the root due to decades of underinvestment and the government’s failure to tackle the crisis. Delays in the courts are being compounded by a chronic shortage of lawyers and judges, overrun prisons and courts in disrepair.”
He added: The increase in the number of people on remand for long periods awaiting trial is extremely concerning.”
Tana Adkin KC, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association said: “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.”
“The public needs to have faith in our criminal justice system, that every complainant, defendant, witness and participant is dealt with fairly, with courtesy and without delay,” Adkin KC added.
The UK Government is currently in court after the Law Society took out a legal challenge over its failure to increase criminal solicitors’ legal aid fees.