Crown court backlog hits record high

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Trigger warning: this article contains information about the delay in prosecuting rape cases, which may be distressing for some readers.  

The backlog of crown court cases in England and Wales has hit a record high of 60,000 cases, with one-fifth of cases taking more than a year to be heard.  

The Ministry of Justice reported last Thursday (24 June) that outstanding cases had increased by 45% compared to last year, causing significant delays for both victims and defendants. The average waiting time for a case to be heard now stands under a year, at 363 days.  

These findings were announced just days after the government published a review of rape cases, which found that a delay in prosecutions was a significant factor contributing to plummeting prosecutions. The number of rape cases now awaiting prosecution has risen by 67% in the past year. 

The magistrates’ court reportedly now has as many as 400,000 outstanding cases.  

David Lammy, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, accused the Conservative government of “forcing victims of domestic violence, rape and violent assault to wait months and years for justice, if they get it at all”.  

He added that these delays were a “direct result of the government’s decade of court closures, combined with its incompetent response to the pandemic”.  

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse also criticised the situation, drawing attention to the Conservative Party’s “underfunding of the justice system”. 

While the mounting backlog of cases can be an overwhelming number to comprehend, Chair Derek Sweeting KC took the opportunity to remind us that “behind every number in the backlog are victims of crime, defendants, witnesses and their families, putting their lives on hold while they wait years to see justice done”.