A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies ‘Productivity in the Crown Court’ has found that the Crown Court backlog was exacerbated by the ‘post-pandemic productivity slump’ (the rate at which the court deals with cases). While Crown Court productivity had recovered to post-pandemic levels by the end of last year, the record high backlog continues to rise.
Responding to the report, Bar Council Chair Barbara Mills KC said: “The report’s findings reinforce the perilous state of the criminal justice system. If we are to end this crisis and grapple with the unacceptably high backlog, the government needs to provide the resources that are urgently needed to help the system function. The current system is letting victims, witnesses, defendants, professionals and the public down.
“The report also demonstrates that to increase the disposals (completed cases) to begin to tackle the growing backlog, the cap on sitting days must be lifted again to allow judges to sit at their maximum capacity and make sure court rooms don’t sit empty. We hope the spending review next week recognises that funding for justice should be in line with the demands of it – we need immediate, targeted and sustained investment.”