The Crown Court docket backlog now stands at 80,203, up 8% from 74,106.
David Lammy has vowed to abolish the vast majority of jury trials (Picture: Getty)
Greater than 2,500 trials received’t be heard for at the very least two years, surprising new evaluation has revealed. The Crown Court docket backlog now stands at 80,203, up 8% from 74,106. That is greater than double the extent seen in 2019 (38,108), earlier than the coronavirus pandemic, information revealed on Thursday reveals.
And figures obtained by the Press Affiliation beneath freedom of data legal guidelines present 2,600 crown courtroom trials in England and Wales are usually not listed till at the very least 2028, with 29 not as a consequence of be heard till 2030. Shadow Justice Minister Kieran Mullan stated: “This authorities dithered and delayed for months and months when they need to have been ramping up the sitting days.”
Justice Secretary David Lammy has annoucned controversial plans to restrict jury trials, saying that is the best way to chop the cort backlog. However Mr Mullan stated the Justice Secretary was attempting to cover the reality – which is that many courts merely stand empty and are not getting used, resulting in large waits for justice.
He stated: “Even now day by day dozens of courts sit empty.
“Trials get delayed and known as off for avoidable causes.
“As an alternative of rolling up their sleeves and bearing down on this, they’re busy with their plans to erode our rights to jury trials that are an enormous distraction for everybody working within the system.”
Circumstances within the backlog embrace greater than 200 rape trials, in keeping with the MoJ courtroom listings information as of January 29.
Sexual offences make up a rising proportion of circumstances with the longest delays in crown courts in England and Wales, in keeping with PA evaluation.
One in 5 (20%) backlog circumstances that had been open for at the very least two years on the finish of December 2025 have been for this class of offence.
That is up from 16% in December 2024 and 11% in December 2023.
A complete of 1,252 circumstances involving sexual offences had been open for 2 years or extra on the finish of December, up sharply from 864 circumstances in 2024 and 666 in 2023.
Rape circumstances accounted for 9% of the two-year backlog in December, up from 6% in 2024 and 4% in 2023.
Some 562 rape circumstances had been open for at the very least two years as of December, in contrast with 336 12 months earlier and 263 in 2023.
The class of offence that makes up the only largest proportion of circumstances open for at the very least two years stays violence in opposition to the individual, accounting for 27% of the entire in December, up from 25% in 2024 and 22% in 2023.
Drug offences made up 14% of the two-year backlog in December, down from 16% in 2024 and 20% in 2023.
The backlog in magistrates’ courts additionally peaked at 379,437 circumstances final yr, up 17% on the earlier 12 months (324,846).
It comes after the Authorities introduced plans to reduce jury trials in a bid to overtake the justice system and minimize the rising backlog of circumstances.
Ministers repeated warnings that crown courts have been “getting ready to collapse” within the wake of the information and insisted sweeping reforms would grip the issue.
In the meantime the physique which represents magistrates stated reforms may “fail” except there was funding in neighborhood sentences because it known as on ministers to make a collection of enhancements.
The variety of crown courtroom circumstances open for at the very least a yr stood at a file 21,002 in December, up 27% from 16,584 on the finish of 2024, the MoJ stated.
Courts minister Sarah Sackman stated: “With a record-breaking backlog of over 80,000 circumstances, the crown courtroom is getting ready to collapse.
“The size of this disaster has left victims bearing the brunt of years of neglect, dealing with devastating delays.
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“By means of pragmatic reform, historic funding and elevated effectivity, we’re pulling each lever at our disposal to drive down the backlog.
“Victims have waited lengthy sufficient – and we’ll ship the swift, honest justice they deserve.”
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