\n<\/p>\n
The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday – Friday plus breaking news updates<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
The backlog of crown court <\/a>cases increased by more than 7,000 during the first five months of the coronavirus <\/a>pandemic, new figures have revealed.<\/p>\n According to data up to August 23, there are 46,467 serious criminal cases in the justice system, with a further 517,782 cases waiting to be dealt with by magistrates.<\/p>\n The crown court backlog had been growing rapidly before the pandemic struck, reaching 39,000 in early March, with lawyers blaming this increase on a lack of investment in the justice system and reductions in the number of court sitting days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ministry of Justice <\/a>is now under increasing pressure to tackle the mounting backlog, with many defendants and victims now being forced to wait until late 2021 or even beyond for a jury trial to be held.<\/p>\n Jury cases had to be shutdown in late March due to coronavirus, as courts around the country scaled back their caseloads to essential work only and began grappling with social distancing rules.<\/p>\n Trials gradually restarted in June, but courthouses have only been able to hear handfuls of cases at once to avoid breaching public health guidelines.<\/p>\n This week, a judge at Woolwich crown court<\/a>, Judge Keith Raynor, heavily criticised the government\u2019s response to the courts crisis<\/a>, calling it \u201ctoo little, too late\u201d.<\/p>\n He refused to extend custody time limits for a defendant who had already spent 11 months awaiting his trial, and then publicly claimed he had been \u201cpressured\u201d by senior judges <\/a>to make a different decision and stripped of powers when he spoke out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Plexiglass screens are due to be rolled out to crown courts around the country shortly, in a bid to get more trials running with jurors able to sit closer together in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n