Crown court backlog hits record high in Bedfordshire
The backlog of crown court cases in Bedfordshire has reached an eight-year high, new figures show.
The number of cases waiting to be heard across England and Wales has nearly doubled.
New figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 1,044 open cases waiting to be heard by crown courts in Bedfordshire as of the end of September.
It marks an 85.11 per cent increase since September 2019, before the Covid pandemic, when there were 564 cases.
It is also the largest backlog since 2016, when current records began.
Nationally, the backlog stood at 73,105 cases at the end of September, a 10% 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 times of between two and five years before a case goes to trial, with court listings now running into 2027.
The director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson recently 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 waiting for two years or more at the end of September while just 592 were waiting this long at the end of December 2019.
Snaresbrook Crown Court in London had the largest share of the backlog (3,442) followed by Manchester Minshull Street (2,378) and Maidstone in Kent (2,367).
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 days she had been in-post.
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."
In Bedfordshire there were 133 sexual offences cases waiting to be heard, as well as 72 theft offence cases and 372 for violence against the person.
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."