HM Courts and Tribunal Service data released this week show 65,004 cases were outstanding in the Crown Court in August, up from 60,580 in August 2022. The backlog in the magistrates’ courts also rose, to 353,700 in August from 343,842 in August 2022.
Nick Emmerson, Law Society president, said: ‘The backlogs in our courts are actually getting larger instead of reducing as the crisis in our criminal justice system worsens.
‘Our prisons are so overcrowded that judges are reportedly being asked to delay sentencing convicted criminals. Our courts are so overwhelmed with cases that victims and defendants are having to wait years for cases to come to trial.
‘There aren’t enough judges and lawyers to handle the number of cases in the system, and the court estate is crumbling. The only answer is urgent investment across the whole criminal justice system.’
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