Crown courts are at “breaking point” and there will be 100,000 outstanding criminal cases by 2028, a minister has warned, as the backlog reaches a new record high.
Official figures published on Thursday show there were 76,957 open cases waiting to be heard at the end of March, up 11 per cent on the previous year. A quarter of those — some 18,093 cases — have already been open for a year or more.
Last month, The Independent revealed trials are being listed for 2029 as the backlog leaves defendants and victims waiting up for four years for justice.
It comes as Sir Brian Leveson prepares to publish a report on “once-in-a-generation” reforms to the courts system to reduce the load on the crown courts.
Responding to the latest figures, minister for courts and legal services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said: “Despite the hard work of people across the criminal justice system the situation in our Crown Court is reaching breaking point.
“We inherited a courts crisis with an ever-growing backlog which, at its current rate of increase, will hit 100,000 before 2028.
“It is simply unacceptable that any victim has to wait years to see justice done and it is clear the status quo is not working.
“Only radical reform can deliver swifter justice for victims and that is why we asked Sir Brian Leveson to make recommendations for once-in-a-generation change, to be published in the coming weeks.”
The government asked Sir Brian to consider major overhauls, including giving magistrates’ more sentencing powers and introducing intermediate courts which would see some cases tried by a judge and two magistrates, rather than a lengthy jury trial.
He will also consider how new technology, including Artificial Intelligence, could be used to drive efficiencies in the courts.
However the Law Society has warned only “sustained investment” across the justice sector will tackle the backlog, arguing that establishing a new court will “waste money, time and energy”.
The trial of a 38-year-old mother from south London is among those facing “jaw dropping” delays after it was listed for 3 January 2029.
She will face a charge of possession with intent to supply cannabis, which she denies, in a two-day hearing at Woolwich Crown Court.
In another case, likely to last three days, three men will stand trial at the same court, on 15 January, over the theft of motor vehicles, which they also deny.
The cases were described by Stephen Nelson, the barrister representing the woman and one of the men, as “straightforward and not complicated” – and said the delays were “jaw-dropping”. He warned that one client was in poor health and might not live to see his case come to trial in 2029.
In March, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced judges will sit collectively for 110,000 days in the next year, 4,000 more than allocated for the previous period, to help victims see justice done faster.
