Portsmouth Crown Court sees backlog of cases grow amid justice system being in 'jeopardy'

The Law Society of England and Wales warned trust in the criminal justice system is in ‘jeopardy’ with victims of even the most serious crimes facing long waits to get their case before a court.

The latest figures came ahead of this week's vote by criminal barristers across the country on whether to end indefinite strike action – launched over issues around legal aid fees and conditions – following a pay offer from the government.

Ministry of Justice data shows there were 345 outstanding cases at Portsmouth Crown Court at the end of June.

That was up from 308 at the end of March, but a decrease from 440 at the same point in 2021.

Uncompleted case numbers are 31 per cent higher than they were prior to the coronavirus pandemic – in June 2019, there were 263 cases outstanding at the court.

Of the cases outstanding at the end of June, 96 (28 per cent) related to alleged violent attacks and 55 (16 per cent) were for sex offences, including 13 alleged rapes.

Across England and Wales, 59,700 cases were yet to be concluded at the end of June – up two per cent from March, and a rise of nearly three-quarters compared to June 2019, when 34,500 were outstanding.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of the charity Victim Support, said: ‘Long waits for trial cause immense stress and misery for victims. Sadly, wait times for court are only part of the problem – many people have already waited years from reporting the crime to the police to their case reaching the courts.

‘This a particular problem for victims of sexual violence – our case workers are supporting victims who have been waiting upwards of five years to have their cases heard.’

Stephanie Boyce, president of the Law Society, said: ‘The criminal justice system has been devastated by years of underfunding and cuts and there are not enough judges, barristers and solicitors to cover all the cases. Trust in the system is in real jeopardy and a system collapse would embolden criminals.’

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have been taking part in a continuous walkout after their row with the government over fees intensified.

Members of the Criminal Bar Association will decide whether to accept a 15 per cent fee increase for new and existing cases, with a decision due on Monday, October 10.

Mark Fenhalls KC, chairman of the Bar Council, said the government should commit to a funding package for the justice system which would see every serious case in the crown court offered a trial date within six months.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Restoring the swift access to justice victims deserve is our absolute priority and we are spending almost half a billion pounds to reduce wait times, as well as boosting funding for victim support to £460m over the next three years.

‘On top of this, the government has deployed a range of measures – including unlimited sitting days, Nightingale courts and increasing magistrate sentencing powers – that has so far reduced the backlog in the Crown Court by over 2,000 from its pandemic-induced peak and seen magistrates cases return to pre-pandemic levels.’