Crown Court backlog increases

Criminal court backlog figures for April show 58,271 outstanding cases in the Crown Court compared to 57,870 in March. “It is very concerning to see the Crown Court backlog has increased compared to the previous month,” said Law Society vice president Lubna Shuja. “[T]he backlog is decreasing at a snail’s pace – by just 286 cases in six months from November 2021 and April 2022 – but the fact the backlog has gone up again in the most recent month tells us the problem will not be resolved without a radical shift from the Ministry of Justice”.