The Law Society has described the criminal justice system as ‘withering at the root’ following the release of the latest criminal courts statistics.
Fewer than half (42%) of trials listed at magistrates' court were effective, according to the figures covering July to September 2023. During that same period, only 41% of trials were effective at Crown court.
At the end of September, 352,945 cases were outstanding at the magistrates’ courts, 3% up on the previous quarter. The number of trials listed totalled 19,664, a 14% decrease on the previous year.
In Crown court, 66,547 cases were outstanding at the end of September, 3% up on the previous quarter and a 6% increase on the previous year.
Outstanding cases that have been open for a year or more rose to 17,790, making up 28% of outstanding cases.
While the median time from offence to completion fell both in the magistrates’, from 183 to 178 days, and Crown court, from 400 to 374 days, both figures remain above pre-pandemic levels.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said court delays are ‘being compounded by a chronic shortage of lawyers and judges, overrun prisons and courts in disrepair’ and criminal defence solicitors are ‘crucial’ to tackle the backlog.
He added: ‘The criminal justice system is withering at the root due to decades of underinvestment and the government’s failure to tackle the crisis. Criminal defence solicitors are crucial to help tackle the huge backlogs in our courts, but they are becoming more and more scarce as the work is not financially viable. The existing lack of court staff overall is exacerbating the crisis.
‘The fundamental right to access to justice is at stake without urgent investment into criminal justice.’
Chair of the Criminal Bar Association Tana Adkin KC added: ‘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.’
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