Rise in unresolved crown court cases in Nottinghamshire as national backlog hits record high

Data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) shows there were 1,760 outstanding crown court cases in Nottinghamshire as of September – up from 1,630 a year earlier.

This was also a rise from 903 outstanding cases in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Across England, there were 66,547 outstanding cases in crown courts.

This was up six per cent on the year before and the highest figure since records began almost a decade ago in 2014.

Baroness Newlove, victims' commissioner for England and Wales, said ‘no victim should be expected to wait years before their case gets to court’ and called for ‘urgent and creative intervention’ to address the backlog.

On average, cases in Nottinghamshire had been waiting 212 days to be dealt with – with 204 cases unresolved for two years or more.

In September 2019, cases in the area were waiting 102 days, while 11 had waits of longer than two years.

The Law Society of England and Wales cautioned the ‘fundamental right to access to justice is at stake without urgent investment into criminal justice’.

President Nick Emmerson said the criminal justice system was ‘withering at the root due to decades of underinvestment and the Government’s failure to tackle the crisis’.

He said court delays were compounded by a shortage of legal professionals, poor infrastructure and overrun prisons.

However, the Ministry of Justice said crown courts were now handling more cases than at any point since 2019 – and it is likely the backlog will rise in line with higher caseloads.

The Government previously set a target of reducing the crown court backlog to 53,000 by March 2025.

The number of outstanding magistrate court cases has also risen, and currently stands at 353,000 cases.

Shabana Mahmood MP (Lab), the Shadow Justice Secretary, branded the figures a ‘new low for this failing Government’.

An MoJ spokesperson, said: "Crown courts are now dealing with the highest number of cases than at any point since 2019.

"This is a direct result of our decisive action like lifting the cap on the number of court sitting days, keeping Nightingale Courts open and investing more in our buildings to deliver a modern and effective justice system."