Courts backlog ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’

• As of June 2021, there were 16,021 outstanding cases in London’s Crown Courts, representing a 72 per cent increase compared with March 2020.[1]
• For alleged rape and sexual offences cases, there were 940 outstanding cases in London’s Crown Courts in June 2021, compared with 551 cases in June 2020.[2]
• This means there has been a 71 per cent increase in the backlog of trials for rape and serious sexual offences.

Super courtrooms have been introduced around the country, including in Manchester and Loughborough, to tackle the impact of the pandemic on the justice system. [4]

The Police and Crime Committee is asking whether the Government plans to introduce a super courtroom in the capital, given London has experienced the biggest increase in the backlog of cases and is a city with a high share of the country’s most serious criminal cases.

Today, the Chairman of the Police and Crime Committee has written to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab MP.

Susan Hall AM, Chairman of the Police and Crime Committee, said:

“This backlog is an unacceptable and unsustainable situation for London. The figures make for alarming reading – we must remember there is a human impact behind each of these cases.

“Complainants and witnesses are regularly waiting months and, in some cases, years before their case is heard. For rape and sexual offences, the longer it takes for a case to be heard, the more likely it is that complainants and witnesses will withdraw from proceedings.

“Despite several Nightingale Courts being established, I’m not satisfied that this response is sufficient to meet the scale of the problem facing London’s Crown Courts.

“That is why I am urgently asking the Government to further consider the need for additional courtroom capacity, including super courtrooms, to deal with complex, multi-handed cases, given the acute needs in London.”