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Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen today reiterated her calls for urgent national intervention to tackle a broken justice system that is causing serious and profound additional trauma to victims of crime.
The County Durham and Darlington PCC has responded to a new report from Baroness Newlove, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, into the devastating toll Crown Court backlogs are having on victims of crime and the wider criminal justice system.
The research paints a shocking indictment of the justice journey and exposes the immense stress and strain suffered by victims through frequent adjournments and extended wait times.
In a second report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), MPs warn that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is not taking the urgent action necessary to bring down backlogs from an unprecedented high nor tackle a growing crisis that has seen the population of defendants on remand waiting for their cases to be heard to spiral to the highest level in fifty years.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove reported that nearly half (48%) of victims have had their Crown Court trial dates rescheduled, with most facing repeated delays before their trial takes place.
She said the frequent adjournments and extended wait times cause victims immense stress, and severely impact their mental and physical health, with some using unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drug and alcohol use to navigate ongoing trauma.
The Crown Court backlogs in England and Wales has hit record levels with official government data showing by the end of September 2024, there were 73,105 outstanding cases – the highest on record – leading the Government to announce an independent review by Sir Brian Leveson.
Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has vowed to put victims of crime first in everything she does as PCC, spearheading research locally through her Victims Champions to understand the barriers to justice experienced by victims.
Joy Allen said: “Here we have, on successive days, two independent reports that corroborate what PCCs have been saying for a long time: that we are categorically failing in our duties of care for the most vulnerable and fragile members of our communities – victims of crime. ‘Justice Delayed’ and ‘Justice Denied’ surely must be the catalyst for a long overdue reset of our criminal justice system.
“These appalling statistics represent real people, whether victims or defendants, whose lives are literally on hold for years and we should never forget that. What they are forced to endure is inhumane and completely unacceptable in a liberal democracy.
“We must put this right urgently, perhaps in the way PAC recommends, but I and every other PCC also need stronger assurances that this dire situation will be prevented from happening again and this is only possible through the introduction of an His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) Inspectorate. This would hold a mirror up to the failings which can be then rectified before they become endemic.”
Alongside greater scrutiny of the courts, the PCC called for the adoption of Victim Impact Assessments by the MoJ and all CJ agencies before policies, processes and practices are signed off to give victims of crime greater consideration in the drafting of new legislation and guidance – an issue the Commissioner has raised previously.
“I concur with the PAC’s findings that the Government must urgently reorganise the system otherwise this excessively high backlog will only continue to grow and have further disastrous consequences on victims,” she added.
Work is underway in Durham by the Criminal Justice Board, chaired by the PCC, to review opportunities to improve the backlog locally.
Since first being elected in 2021, the PCC has adopted a victim-focussed approach, appointing three Victim Champions to elevate the voice of victims of crime and evaluate and learn from their experiences through the justice journey. This is shaped both commissioning activities and policy.
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