Court backlogs and delays are unfortunately a feature, not a bug, in our criminal justice system. Well discussed and widely argued, the criminal justice system is not delivering, figures from the Ministry of Justice show that the Crown Court backlog reaching a record high 73,105 by the end of September 2024, 10% higher than September 2023 (66,426 cases), 16,505 of those Crown Court cases have been outstanding for a year or more, the magistrates’ court backlog increased by 22% on the previous year to 333,349 at the end of September 2024.[1] This is not just numbers and figures alone, a delayed case and a stretch system means a worse outcome for victims, often who desperately need and deserve, justice.
This brings us to a report from the Victims’ Commissioner report that details the harmful impact of lengthy court delays on victims’ mental health, everyday lives, and finances. This report articulates some key findings and recommendations for government following some primary qualitative research.
The key findings are:
- The unprecedented backlog experienced by the Crown Court system means that victims commonly face delays and adjournments.
- These delays cause victims debilitating stress and trauma.
- The Crown Court backlog damages victims’ lives and futures, with prolonged waits and further disruption following adjournments adversely affecting victims’ financial situation, job situation and ability to maintain their daily functioning.
- The effectiveness of the criminal justice system and victims’ confidence in its ability to deliver justice is at risk due to the delays in the Crown Court system.
- Delays impede victim services’ ability to provide support.
- Poor communication—such as victims receiving information about how long a case can take to get to trial and why as well as trials being rearranged at very short notice—compounds the impact of the Crown Court backlog on victims.
Justice delayed, left in limbo, and denied closure
Of course, for all of us in the community safety space, this should come as no surprise; the chronic delays to the courts mean that victims struggle to get the justice they deserve, preventing them from moving on, and being provided the proper support. Of the victims in the research who shared their experience, Mila shared a particularly powerful testimony of their experience:
“I'm 30 now and I was 25 when I reported. I feel like I can't remember the second half of my 20s. The only memory I've got of the second half of my 20s is going through the court system because that's all you can think about and your life gets put on hold… literally it's like I woke up one day and I'd lost five years of my life.”
It was also found that more than a third (36%) of victims stated they were not given an explanation when their trial date was changed. This is compounded and exacerbated by the routine poor communication victims often faced, such as how much victim’s information victims receive about how long a case can take to get to trial, as well as trials being rearranged at truly short notice.
Altogether, this paints a distressing picture for our victims who so desperately need support and justice. Three key recommendations were made as a result of the report, these include:
- Improve the victim experience of the criminal justice system.
The government to explore how victims whose case is going to trial might be given a single point of contact to improve communication and ensure their Victims’ Code entitlements are delivered.
- Make court processes more transparent and efficient.
The restoration of an Independent Courts Inspectorate so that the operation of the Court Service is subject to rigorous independent scrutiny.
- Ensure victim services can provide support to victims as they wait for the case to get to trial.
Providing emergency funding to victim support services to help them cope with increased caseloads arising from the court backlog crisis.
Upcoming problems for the courts: Renters’ Rights Bill
The crisis in the criminal justice system may seemingly worsen, and unfortunately, it may become increasingly distressed with the advent of legislation and subsequent bureaucracy. We often hear from members that the advent of the renters’ rights bill, and it’s subsequent changes, are causing some great concern for the efficacy of the criminal justice system to process orders such as possessions. Of course, the removal of section 21 is lauded, in particular, for those in the private rented sector, however the shift to evictions based on statutory grounds for possession is likely to lead to far more court hearings, and therefore a greater strain on the courts.
The bill is currently making passage through the house of lords, and some lords have firmly expressed their concern over these concerns, Baroness Taylor noted during the bill’s second reading in Parliament:
“It is a serious concern, and we take it seriously. We do not believe that it is appropriate to tie in the implementation date of these urgently needed reforms to what could be a subjective assessment of court readiness.
“I reassure your Lordships that we are working very closely with the Ministry of Justice to assess the impacts of our legislation on the courts and tribunals, and to ensure that the justice system is prepared for the implementation of the bill more generally.
“Our discussions with the MoJ cover a range of options for managing the impact of these and our other housing reforms, including mitigations to help avoid disputes arising in the first place, thereby keeping away some of this from the courts, and to manage the risks that are associated.”
There are also conversations of digitisation of the court possession process, which would make the process easier to navigate. Indeed, this is often recognised by the government itself, with housing minister Matthew Pennycook, during the public bill committee debate in the House of Commons stating, “there is no dispute on the government side of the committee as to the fact that the court system is on its knees after the past 14 years”.
Now that we know the tangible effects of these strained systems on victims, it is imperative we strive for improvements, not only for victims themselves, but also to maintain and improve public confidence in justice and authorities. We at Resolve will continue to monitor the political and policy landscape for all developments in regard to the Renters’ Rights Bill, court delays and the impacts on victims. For any questions or queries in regard to this topic, or any other policy related topics, contact:
Harrison Box, Policy Officer
Read the full report here: https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/news/justice-delayed-human-toll-of-gruelling-crown-court-delays-on-victims-revealed-in-new-victims-commissioner-report/#:~:text=The%20report%20reveals%20how%20victims,their%20mental%20and%20physical%20health
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2024/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2024
