The backlog could reach 100,000 cases by 2029 at the current rate
The case backlog in UK’s Crown courts has hit a new peak, reported the Law Society Gazette.
The open caseload increased from 73,172 to 74,651 from September to December 2024, according to criminal courts data released yesterday. Justice minister Sarah Sackman said in a statement published by the Gazette that the numbers “reveal the scale of the crisis we inherited in our courts.”
The government added that the backlog could reach 100,000 cases by 2029 if it keeps rising at the present rate.
“The government’s commitment to bringing swifter justice for victims of crime cannot succeed unless and until it focuses on investing in the trial process. There is always money for emergencies. This is an emergency,” Criminal Bar Association chair Mary Prior said in a statement published by the Gazette.
Sackman pointed to the government’s efforts to address the backlog, including a criminal court review to be conducted by ex-Queen’s Bench Division President Sir Brian Leveson.
“This government will turn this around, bear down on the backlog, and deliver swifter justice for victims. We have already announced record investment in our courts - but we must go further. That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to recommend once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice through our courts,” Sackman said in a statement published by the Gazette.
Law Society of England and Wales President Richard Atkinson countered that the criminal justice was currently in crisis mode and could not wait for Leveson’s review to be completed; neither could it wait for the Gauke sentencing review’s conclusion.
“The government needs to act today to start reducing the number of cases coming into the criminal justice system,” Atkinson said in a statement published by the Gazette.
In the meantime, Prior encouraged victims awaiting their cases’ progression to trial and defendants looking to clear their names to maintain their faith and trust in the system.
