The Crown Court, which deals with the most serious criminal cases, has reached an unprecedented number of open caseloads according to the criminal court statistics report published today. 

The backlog has increased from 67,317 in December 2023 to 74,651 in December 2024, including 16,813 that have been outstanding for more than a year, and the total number could reach 100,000 by 2029. Similarly, the Magistrate’s Court has reached a backlog of 309,838, an increase of 14% from the previous year. 

Courts have begun booking cases for Autumn 2026, and serious offences may not be heard until as late as 2027. More than 17,000 prisoners are on remand and awaiting trial, constituting 20% of the total prison population. Academics have warned long delays put pressure on remand prisoners to submit guilty pleas to have their court processes expedited. HM Inspectorate of Prisons highlighted how the remand prison population was at greater risk of losing their accommodation, employment and custody of their children. 

The delays have also had a devastating impact on victims of violent crime and their families, especially those of rape and serious sexual offences.  

A report from the Victim’s Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, shows that nearly half of victims have had their Crown Court trial dates rescheduled, with many having to wait years before their perpetrator is brought before a judge, driving them to give up on seeking justice altogether. She has condemned this as a ‘second injustice compounding the first’. She stressed that the long delays can hinder victims and witnesses’ recollection of events, reducing the quality of their evidence over time and causing them to be more likely to withdraw from cases 

Sir Brian Leveson, a former judge, has been commissioned by the Labour government for a review of the criminal courts. The review will consider creating ‘intermediate courts’ to tackle the backlog. However, the Law Society doubts that this will be the ‘silver bullet’, commenting that new courts will take up even more time and resources to introduce.  

Law Society president Richard Atkinson cautions that the criminal justice system is in crisis right now and cannot afford to wait for the Leveson review, which is not set to be published until late 2025. Instead, proper funding is needed to address the ‘legal limbo’, and the government needs to act today.