Courtroom limbo for 14,000 puts justice system in the dock

Thankfully, most people will never see the inside of a courtroom.

But those who do are being hugely let down by a system that is supposed to support victims and their families.

Our investigation today reveals how, despite falling crime levels, many cases are stuck in a bureaucratic bottleneck.

It is simply shameful that the number of cases waiting for a decision on whether to prosecute increased 70% in four years.

In reality that means that, at the end of the last financial year,14,000 people were in limbo, awaiting a decision as to whether their case would be taken to court or dropped.

Fatal Accident Inquiries, which investigate sudden deaths in Scotland, have also been particularly badly hit.

The average waiting time for a mandatory inquiry now sits at two years, although in some cases it has been as long as five years.

Imagine you are a victim of crime. That, in itself, is a traumatic experience.

To then have to sit and wait months, or perhaps even years, for the case to actually get anywhere near a court simply prolongs that agony.

It also erodes public confidence in the courts system which in turn could easily see some victims deciding that it isn’t worth the hassle of reporting a crime in the first place.

With FAIs the delays can be just as devastating as families wait for answers to why their loved ones lost their lives and who may be culpable.

The fallout from this issue gives real cause for concern especially when leading legal figures accuse the Scottish Government of standing by as the system crumbles.

Indeed, the Lord Advocate himself is also on the charge sheet.

Eminent defence QC Donald Findlay best sums it up when he says: “Justice should be sure and it should be swift. That’s what justice is supposed to be.”