Victims face three-year waits for justice as court cases pile-up

There is a huge pile-up of cases waiting to be dealt with at Shrewsbury Crown Court, with a county solicitor blaming "chronic underfunding" as the main cause of the problem.

Magistrates are set to be given more sentencing powers in an effort to tackle the build-up nationally, but critics warned the plan could have the opposite effect and be nothing more than a “sticking plaster".

Ministry of Justice data shows there were 473 outstanding cases at Shrewsbury Crown Court at the end of September last year.

That was a decrease from 508 at the end of June, but up from 369 at the same point in 2020.

Uncompleted case numbers are 70 per cent higher than they were prior to the coronavirus pandemic – in September 2019, there were 278 cases outstanding at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Of the cases outstanding at the end of summer, 132 (28 per cent) related to alleged violent attacks and 61 (13 per cent) were for sex offences.

Solicitor Steve Scully, who regularly represents defendants in Shrewsbury Crown Court cases, insists the situation is not fair on those waiting for their case to be heard.

“One particular case I am dealing with dates back to three years, and someone is still waiting for their day in court," he said.

“It’s not just the defendants but the witnesses who are impacted as well, and some witnesses don’t want to wait and end up refusing to give evidence, which can destroy a case.

“If it’s hanging over your head and you’re innocent of the crime, it can have major consequences for your mental health."

Under plans announced by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, the maximum sentence magistrates can hand out will be doubled to a year.

Currently, crimes warranting a jail term of more than six months are automatically sent to a crown court for sentencing.

Keeping more cases in magistrates’ courts, which have been “less severely affected” by Covid, means crown courts can better focus their resources on tackling the backlog, according to the MoJ.

Mr Raab said: “This important measure will provide vital additional capacity to drive down the backlog of cases in the crown courts over the coming years."

But Alex Cunningham, Labour’s shadow courts and sentencing minister, described the move as “another sticking plaster” solution, adding: “Ministers must give assurances that greater powers for magistrates won’t inflict even more burden on crown courts – with increased numbers of appeals overloading a diminishing number of criminal advocates left in the system.”

Mark Fenhalls QC, chairman of the Bar Council, warned the changes could increase the prison population and put further pressure on the MoJ budget.

Bev Higgs, national chairman of the Magistrates’Association, which has campaigned for sentencing powers to be extended, said the organisation was “delighted” with the announcement, adding: “It is absolutely the right time to re-align where cases are heard to ensure a safe, effective, and efficient justice system."