Miscarriages of justice investigators slashe case backlog

CRIME: review commission cuts backlog

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates miscarriages of justice, has slashed its backlog by a quarter as the number of lawyers instructed to bring applications soars.

The CCRC's annual report shows that the backlog has fallen from 1,200 to 900 cases in the past year, while the number of cases with legal representation has grown from 10% to 30% in three years.A CCRC spokesman said: 'We would like to see everybody legally represented.'The drop has also been put down to the abating of an initial surge, and an increase in the number of caseworkers to 37.

'Once we get up to 50 we should eat into the backlog,' the spokesman said.CCRC chairman Sir Frederick Crawford wrote in his introduction to the report that while he appreciated new money provided by the Home Office, 'the gap between resources and casework must be closed'.Sir Frederick said the casework accumulation would diminish 'only slowly'.

He added: 'The position will be aggravated if the intake increases again, for example in response to the implementation of the Human Rights Act in October.'Mark Haslam, vice-president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association, said the Home Office should provide more cash for staff, given the number of referrals.

'There aren't enough caseworkers to deal with the caseload,' he said.He added: 'it is encouraging to see that the numbers have fallen but the backlog is still far too great.

The danger is that the backlog creates a reputation which hides the good work that the commission is doing.'

Anne Mizzi