The January 2021 poll found strong support for some crimes to be reported online rather than by phone or in person, and support for remote court hearings.
Crime and justice consultancy Crest Advisory, which commissioned the research, published modelling in October 2020 which suggested the backlog would be ‘unmanageable’ by 2024, with a four-fold increase in Crown court cases compared to 2019, and ten times as many magistrates’ court cases.
Crest’s report, ‘Survive. Recover. Rebuild. Justice post Covid-19’, calls for investment to clear the cases backlog, greater uses of alternatives to tackle the causes of crime, and devolving prison and probation budgets to Metro Mayors. View a two-minute summary here.
Harvey Redgrave, Crest chief executive, said: ‘Large-scale investment and fundamental reform is needed.’
Bar Chair Derek Sweeting QC said: ‘There needs to be a long-term recovery plan and a new approach.’
