Courts backlog rise during pandemic

Hu n d re d s fewe r c r i m i n a l cases are dealt with at Crown Court because of the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

Legal industry bodies say victims, witnesses and defendants are being failed by an underfunded criminal justice system – and were even before the pandemic.

Ministry of Justice figures show 373 cases were concluded at Newcastle Crown Court between April and June following a trial or sentencing hearing – a fall of 47% on the 699 cases dealt with between January and March.

Between April and June last year, 742 cases were concluded – meaning the backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with by the court increased from 1,324 at the end of March to 1,363 at the end of June – a rise of 3%.

At Durham Crown Court 170 cases were concluded between April and June – a fall of 41% on the 287 cases dealt with between January and March.

Across England and Wales, the number of crown court cases concluded almost halved between April and June – 12,338, compared to 23,323 between January and March.

At magistrates courts the bac k l og s oa re d by a l m o s t 100,000 cases.

The figures show the waiting list reaching a record high 422,000 at the end of June.

Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, which represents barristers, said: "We’ve seen what lack of funding for law and order achieves – rising crime, low detection rates, long delays to cases with many collapsing before they get anywhere near a court, victims of crime denied justice, and all because overnment after government has failed to invest in justice.”