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Victims’ Commissioner statement on record Crown Court backlog

Published:
A graphic showing an image of the Victims' Commissioner next to a section of her statement.

Baroness Newlove calls for "urgent and creative intervention" to address the "crisis" of the record courts backlog.

The latest courts backlog data reveals an alarming rise in the overall caseload to over 66,500 – a new record high.

Further, the proportion of cases outstanding for over a year also continues to increase. It is now also at a new record high.

Responding to the latest data, the Victims’ Commissioner said this “crisis” was “of grave concern” that required “urgent and creative intervention”.

Statement

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove said:

“For the second straight quarter in a row, we are witnessing a new record high in the number of outstanding cases in the Crown Court. This is of grave concern.

“This cannot be solely attributed to the barristers’ strike, which concluded more than a year ago, or the pandemic. It suggests there are wider systemic problems in our justice system, and I am concerned that chronic and unacceptable delays are becoming ingrained in the system. This must never be normalised nor tolerated.

“Over a quarter of all cases are now outstanding for over a year and this proportion is steadily increasing. This is causing victims real and undue distress, as it potentially means they face a wait of months and possibly years before they see justice being done. This has real consequences for our justice system, with many victims unable to last the distance, resulting in prosecutions having to be dropped.

“Urgent and creative intervention is needed to address this crisis. No victim should be expected to wait years before their case gets to court. ” 

Editors’ Notes

  • Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2023 (link to data)
  • Crown Court open caseload: At the end of September 2023, there were 66,547 cases outstanding in the Crown Court.
    • This was a 3% increase from the last quarter ending June 2023 (64,835).
    • The barristers’ strike concluded in October 2022. The open caseload at the end of December 2022 was 62,485.
    • It also marks a 63% increase from pre-pandemic figures (end of March 2020 – 40,843)
    • Strikingly, it is a 95% increase from end of June 2019 (34,073), when Baroness Newlove was last Victims’ Commissioner.
  • Crown Court ‘backlog’ (cases outstanding for more than a year): At the end of September 2023, over a quarter (27%) of outstanding cases at the Crown Court remain open for over a year. This represents 17,790 cases, which is the highest number of cases outstanding for over a year in the Crown Court since this data was first collected in 2014.
    • The 27% of outstanding cases open for over a year at the end of September 2023 is consistent with the last quarter (27%).
    • It is notably above the 7% (2,863) of cases remaining open for over a year pre-pandemic (at the end of March 2020).
    • It compares to 6% (2,101) at the end of June 2019, when Baroness Newlove was last Victims’ Commissioner.
  • Timeliness: Timeliness remains above pre-pandemic levels (77% higher for all offences compared to end of March 2020) and 79% higher than end of June 2019 for time between receipt at Crown Court and completion. This is also reflected in time between offence and completion at Crown Court which is 48% higher than both end of March 2020 and end of June 2019. However, time between receipt at Crown Court and completion for all offences reduced by 4% on the previous quarter and time between offence and completion at Crown Court reduced by 7% on the previous quarter.
  • Specific offence types:
    • Adult rape: adult rape cases outstanding for more than a year in the Crown Court continues to increase. At the end of September 2023, 26% (667) of outstanding adult rape cases had been open for over a year, compared to 25% (587) last quarter, 8% (60) at the end of March 2020 and 8% (46) at the end of June 2019.
    • Violence against the person: 24% (4,367) of cases were outstanding for over a year at the end of September 2023, 25% (4,333) last quarter, 6% (566) at the end of March 2020 and 5% (367) at the end of June 2019.
    • Robbery: 25% (546) of cases were outstanding for over a year at the end of September 2023, 26% (595) last quarter, 5% (106) at the end of March 2020 and 4% (64) at the end of June 2019.
    • Public order offences: 25% (646) of cases were outstanding for over a year at the end of September 2023, 28% (677) last quarter, 6% (98) at the end of March 2020 and 4% (52) at the end of June 2019