Diverting cases from the criminal courts will be considered as part of “radical” steps to tackle the backlog “crisis,” the head of a major justice review has said.
Sir Brian Leveson said the number of prosecutions waiting to be dealt with was “unsustainable”, with listings now running into 2027.
The retired judge has been appointed by the Government to carry out an independent review of the system after the backlog of cases in crown courts hit another record high.
Speaking for the first time since his review was launched, the retired judge said the situation was “not acceptable”.
“It isn’t acceptable for victims, it isn’t acceptable for witnesses, who have to bear in mind, remember what had happened, and be able to deal with it so many years later, it isn’t acceptable for defendants who have allegations hanging over their head for years and years,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“The backlog has become unsustainable, in the sense that cases are being added to the system faster than they can be removed by trial and result.
“So this isn’t so much a challenge. It’s a crisis in the criminal justice system which has to be addressed.”
Asked whether the number of cases being dealt with in the courts needed to be considered, Sir Brian said: “I think that’s a good question, and one of the issues that will have to be considered.
“The extent to which we can divert people from the criminal justice system, is a live one, and that’s one of the areas which I’m going to be looking at.”
Jury trials could be abandoned in some cases with “intermediate” courts involving a judge flanked by two magistrates under suggestions being looked at in the review.
The measure would be for cases too serious for magistrates’ courts but no longer deemed serious enough for the crown court.
Magistrates could also have their powers expanded again so they can hand down longer jail sentences in order to speed up resolution as part of proposals under consideration.
Sir Brian carried out a similar review in 2015, the recommendations of which were accepted in full by the Government.
“The non-legislative changes that were put into place after that review did make a difference and have helped, and I think, I hope, have continued to help. But I think that the system now requires far more radical answers,” he said.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published court backlog figures for the first time in several months on Thursday amid concerns over inaccuracies with the data.
Its data showed the number of criminal cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales stood at 73,105 at the end of September.
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.
There were 14,865 outstanding sexual offence cases, of which 3,291 were for adult rape allegations, according to PA news agency analysis.
