Victims and defendants waiting years for justice as crown court backlog in West Mercia hits record high
The backlog of crown court cases in West Mercia has reached an eight-year high, new figures show.
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New figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 1,548 open cases waiting to be heard by crown courts in the West Mercia policing region as of the end of September.
This has more than doubled since September 2019, before the Covid pandemic, when there were 660 cases. It is also the largest backlog since 2016, when current records began.
Across the policing region, there were 363 sexual offences cases waiting to be heard, as well as 108 theft offence cases and 448 for violence against the person.
Nationally, the backlog stood at 73,105 cases at the end of September, a 10 per cent rise on the previous year and nearly double since September 2019, when there were 35,310 cases outstanding.
Prosecutors have warned victims are facing waiting between two and five years before a case goes to trial, with court listings now running into 2027.
