Criminal prosecution average wait time reaches 708 days.
Recent figures reveal just how hard the criminal justice system has been hit by the pandemic and government cuts.
The average wait time for criminal prosecution has risen to 708 days. In their recent report, the National Audit Office (NAO) has raised significant concern over rape and sexual assault cases, as keeping victims, witnesses and defendants waiting for over a year for their cases to be heard, risks the whole case collapsing. This is because evidence can get lost or becomes less credible, memories fade and victims tend to withdraw from the process.
While government figures show that more cases are currently being listed for trial at Crown Courts, the speed at which they are being dealt with is not enough to offset the average wait for justice from increasing. The NAO’s October 2021 report notes the difficult circumstances faced by the Criminal Justice System even before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Noting that the Crown Court backlog increased by 23% in the year leading up to the pandemic, increasing from 33,290 cases on 31 March 2019 to 41,045 cases on 31 March 2020, due a 16% drop in sitting days in 2019-20 than in 2018-19.
The reasons are multitudinous. The last two years has been hugely testing for the Criminal justice system, with the need to adapt ways of working to facilitate for social distancing, remote working, and last-minute changes due to coronavirus outbreaks. It’s not surprising that London appears to be the worst hit by the rises, with the average age of a case increasing by 63% from 164 days to 266.
Despite being the cause of significant Parliamentary, media and wider public interest, the Ministry of Justice have reassured people that the latest implemented measures will restore “swift justice.” (BBC)
However, NAO highlight that neither the Ministry of Justice nor its courts agencies are collaboratively working towards solving these problems. The shed light on the fact that the recorded backlog in cases has now reached nearly 61,000 cases (as of June 21), and they warn that significant delays could continue until 2024.
Head of NAO Gareth Davies comments that “the impact on victims, witnesses and defendants is severe and it is vital that the Ministry of Justice works effectively with its partners in the criminal justice system to minimise the delays to justice.” (BBC)
Criminal barristers agree that delays will inevitably hinder progress and raise concern over the welfare of staff, defendants and victims.
It is clearly pivotal that the Government invest now in our Justice system to ensure a level playing field between all those participating in the process.
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Written By: Francesca Gransden.
Sources used:
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/reducing-the-backlog-in-criminal-courts/
https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Reducing-the-backlog-in-criminal-courts-Summary.pdf
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60071691
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-59464418
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59001822
