Leeds Crown Court backlog fourth highest in England and Wales according to new government figures

New figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal that the court backlog in England and Wales reached 73,105 cases by the end of September, with Leeds recording the fourth highest total at 2,135 cases.

The Government has said it is considering “fundamental reform” in the courts after the crown court backlog almost doubled in five years, hitting another record high, PA reports.

The caseload increased 3% on the previous quarter (71,042 cases), 10% on the previous year (66,426 cases) and has nearly doubled since the end of 2019 (38,016 cases), prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

There were 14,865 outstanding sexual offence cases , of which 3,291 were for adult rape offences, according to PA news agency analysis.

Prosecutors have warned victims are facing waiting times of between two and five years before a case goes to trial, with court listings now running into 2027.

Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, last week described delays faced by victims as “totally unacceptable” and said the wait times in the criminal justice system are “probably worse than I’ve ever known them to be”.

The figures show 5,660 cases have been in the backlog for two years or more at the end of September while just 592 were waiting this long at the end of December 2019.

This makes the current figure at least nine times higher than the number prior to the pandemic.

Some 16,505 cases had been open for a year or more but the MoJ said wait times were overall falling slightly since a 2022 peak.

The latest figures – published on Thursday for the first time in months amid concerns over inaccuracies with the data – prompted the Government to announce it has drafted in retired judge Sir Brian Leveson to carry out a major review of the courts system.

Ministers have suggested that scrapping jury trials in some cases could be among measures considered to cut the backlog.

Newly appointed justice minister Sarah Sackman told reporters it had become “apparent” there was “nothing short of a crisis in the crown court system” in the eight says she had been in-post.

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“The crown court caseload is at record levels, those levels are rising and if we don’t do anything about it we’ll soon be in the territory of a caseload backlog of six figures,” she warned.

Measures already taken are “barely touching the sides and what’s actually needed is fundamental reform”, she said, adding: “We’ve asked Sir Brian to consider all options.”

Describing the state of the criminal justice system as “dire”, Ms Sackman said the soaring numbers were the result of a combination of factors, including the fallout from the pandemic, as she blamed the “political choices by the previous government”.

“We know that victims are having to live with the psychological harm of the lack of closure and having that trial date hanging over them and in many cases, as we know, pulling out of the process altogether, which itself leads to inefficiency and in some cases to trials collapsing”, she said.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the “scale of the crown court crisis inherited by this Government is unprecedented”.

She continued: “Despite the efforts of judges, lawyers and court staff, we simply cannot continue with the status quo.”

She had hinted at the prospect of jury trials being abandoned in some cases to tackle backlogs in the system, telling broadcasters “we need to think about doing things differently”.

Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle described suggestions about resorting to scrapping some jury trials as “one quite extreme way of looking at it”, adding: “Dispensing with jury trials is one difficult end of some of the decisions that might have to be made.”

Ms Sackman said jury trials were an “absolute cornerstone of the British criminal justice system and will remain so” as she insisted jury trials “are always going to be available for the most serious crimes.”

“But if we are to effect the once-in-a-generation type of reform that is needed to grip the scale of the crisis that we are in, we are going to have to think boldly,” she added.

Pressed on what changes could be considered, Ms Sackman said: “All options will be on the table. I don’t want to prejudge what he (Sir Brian) may or may not recommend.”

Asked by reporters to acknowledge the announcement to be ministers ordering yet another review – after the Government came under fire for launching so many since taking office – Ms Sackman said: “We’re confronting the scale of the problem.”

Sir Brian is expected to present his findings in the spring, around the same time as ministers are due to consider conclusions from former justice secretary David Gauke’s sentencing review.

Asked if the courts review was being completed quickly enough in light of ministers highlighting the urgency of the crisis, Ms Sackman said: “We’ve got to give Sir Brian sufficient time to carry out a rigorous review.”

She added: “I don’t think that’s an inappropriate amount of time.”

Here is a breakdown, by court, of the backlog of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales as of September 30 2024, as published by the Ministry of Justice:

1. Snaresbrook 3,442
2. Minshull Street Manchester 2,378
3. Maidstone 2,367
4. Leeds 2,135
5. Newcastle upon Tyne 2,075
6. Wood Green 1,992
7. Manchester 1,984
8. Isleworth 1,974
9. Nottingham 1,935
10. Birmingham 1,891
11. Sheffield 1,826
12. Liverpool 1,735
13. Preston 1,619
14. Cardiff 1,448
15. Bradford 1,426
16. Basildon 1,378
17. Teesside 1,374
18. Ipswich 1,341
19. Woolwich 1,320
20. Inner London 1,304
21. Wolverhampton 1,296
22. Southwark 1,284
23. Croydon 1,272
24. Leicester 1,236
25. Guildford 1,221
26. Chelmsford 1,196
27. Lewes 1,163
28. Kingston upon Thames 1,067
29. Norwich 1,055
30. Luton 1,044
31. Bristol 1,029
32. Aylesbury 1,000
33. Derby 968
34. Bolton 967
35. Warwick (sitting at Leamington Spa) 960
36. Reading 952
37. St Albans 908
38. Canterbury 894
39. Cambridge 888
40. Worcester 862
41. Central Criminal Court 847
42. Chester 839
43. Northampton 814
44. Stafford 698
45. Shrewsbury 686
46. Stoke-on-Trent 652
47. Bournemouth 636
48. Swansea 633
49. Portsmouth 606
50. Harrow 601
51. Kingston-upon-Hull 582
52. Oxford 573
53. Durham 558
54. Lincoln 520
55. Exeter 490
56. Southampton 489
57. Gloucester 488
58. Taunton 431
59. York 411
60. Carlisle 381
61. Winchester 342
62. Plymouth 339
63. Mold 297
64. Swindon 297
65. Truro 290
66. Great Grimsby 281
67. Burnley 268
68. Merthyr Tydfil 263
69. Caernarfon 167
70. Salisbury 136
71. Newport (Isle Of Wight) 120
72. Newport (South Wales) 12
73. Chichester 3
74. Peterborough 2
75. Warrington 2