Some 2,311 of the cases waiting to be heard in London are for alleged sexual offences
The Crown Court backlog has continued to surge to above 37,000 cases waiting to be heard. It has prompted the government to announce additional Crown Court funding to tackle the ever-growing problem.
The funds will create an extra 1,250 Crown Court sitting days across the country in order to try more cases this year, speeding up justice for victims, the Deputy Prime Minister has said.
The news comes as official figures show that the Crown Court backlog has reached a new record high for the ninth quarter in a row. Not since January to March 2023 has there been a reduction in the Crown Court backlog. A total of 1,400 cases were added to the backlog between April and June this year.
That took it to a total of 78,329 cases across the country. It includes a record 13,238 sexual offence cases, including a record 4,086 cases of adult rape and a record 1,759 for child rape.
The backlog has also been increasing in London, with the figure at 37,283 between March and June this year. That’s up from 29,659 in June last year.
Things are much worse than before the COVID pandemic. There were just 14,236 cases in London’s backlogs in June of 2019, less than half as many as there are today.
A total of 2,311 of the cases in the London Crown Court backlog are for sexual offences. That’s up from 1,627 at the same time last year. The current total includes 816 cases for adult rape, and 231 of child rape.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy, said: “The Crown Court backlog we inherited stands at over 78,000 and behind each case is a real person, waiting years for justice. That is why we are acting with the biggest investment on record as part of our Plan for Change. An additional 1,250 sitting days will be allocated to the Crown Court this financial year, allowing it to hear many extra cases.
“We know there is more to do, and generational reform that cannot wait, but this investment will help ease the torment and bring swifter justice to many more victims.”
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