The 76,957-case backlog is the highest figure recorded in 25 years, the legal body said
The Crown court backlog in the UK is at “unacceptable” levels with 76,957 unaddressed cases, according to the UK Criminal Bar Association.
The legal body indicated that this is the highest number recorded in 25 years, reported the Law Society Gazette. The backlog in the January-March 2025 period rose by 11 percent compared to the previous year; if the current rate of increase is sustained, data suggest that the backlog could hit 100,000 cases by autumn 2026.
A total of 18,093 cases have been open for at least a year, and the number of open cases in magistrates’ courts has hit 310,304.
“Despite the hard work of people across the criminal justice system, the situation in our Crown court is reaching breaking point. We inherited a courts crisis with an ever-growing backlog which, at its current rate of increase, will hit 100,000 before 2028,” said Sarah Sackman, minister for courts and legal services, in a statement published by the Gazette.
UK CBA chair Mary Prior called for the opening of closed Crown courtrooms to hearings.
“Whatever the radical reforms suggested in ongoing reviews, implementation will take at least another year. The traumatised people in the long queue for justice may well have walked away by then, unheard and unseen. When all Crown courts are open and functioning, the judiciary, criminal barristers and court staff can ensure that trials take place. The government can find money for things when it needs to; it finds money for emergencies. This is an emergency,” she said in a statement published by the Gazette.
Ex-judicial chief for criminal justice Sir Brian Leveson recently conducted an independent review of the criminal court, the results of which are set to be released soon.
“The independent review of the criminal courts and independent sentencing review must be backed with sufficient investment, as must the legal aid system which underpins them, for the government to meet its responsibility to support our criminal justice system for the common good,” said Richard Atkinson, Law Society of England and Wales president, in a statement published by the Gazette.