WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
February 07 2025
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO

Review of courts system aims to tackle inefficiencies amid historic backlogs

Review of courts system aims to tackle inefficiencies amid historic backlogs

A sign showing the direction to Woolwich crown court; HMP Belmarsh. Photo: Andy Aitchison

A major new review of the criminal courts system is being initiated to tackle delays and inefficiencies amid historic backlogs.

Sir Brian Leveson, former judicial chief for criminal justice, is heading up the review which aims to improve timeliness in the crown court system ‘for victims, witnesses and defendants.’ The report, to be presented to the Ministry of Justice in the spring, will present recommendations that provide efficiency ‘without jeopardising the requirement for a fair trial.’

The review will consider magistrates’ sentencing powers and the potential for an ‘intermediate’ court where a judge is flanked by magistrates. This would be used where cases aren’t considered severe enough to be heard in a Crown Court but are too serious for magistrates alone.

Sir Leveson will also explore reclassifying some offences to ease pressures on the Crown Court.

Leveson headed up a previous review of efficiency in the criminal justice system in 2015, the recommendations from which were mostly enacted the following year. However, the MoJ says that the pandemic, as well as the increasing scale in the number of cases being heard in the Crown Court, the backlog cannot be resolved even with historically high numbers of sitting days.

The review is also due to consider how new technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, could be used to improve the criminal courts.

According to the Bar Council, there is a growing backlog of over 73,000 cases at the Crown Court (the highest ever level on record) and over 327,000 at the Magistrates’ Court (the highest since late 2020).

Responding to the announcement of this review, the head of the Bar Council said: ‘Earlier this year we called for the establishment of a review of the criminal justice system and welcome the government’s announcement today. We entirely agree with the government’s aims to reduce the court backlogs, speed up trials and rebuild public confidence in the criminal justice system.

‘Those working in the crumbling justice system have been propping it up with goodwill at the expense of their wellbeing and personal lives for too long. The number of trials cancelled on the day because legal professionals are not available has risen dramatically since COVID. This lets victims, witnesses, defendants, professionals and the public down. If the backlog is to have any chance of being cleared, we need immediate, targeted and sustained investment.’

He added that the current crisis within the courts system is due to ‘decades of cuts and a severe lack of investment’.

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