Issue 109  28th September 2019

Today’s criminal court statistics have sparked alarm among lawyers, who have described ‘appalling’ crime detection rates and a growing backlog of cases. The quarterly criminal court statistics for April to June 2019 show that the backlog of criminal cases has crept up while court workload has fallen.

According to Ministry of Justice figures, the number of Crown court receipts and disposals have fallen steadily over the past three years. While receipts rose slightly this quarter (3%) compared to last year, disposals fell by 4% to 25,720.

Chair of the Criminal Bar Association Caroline Goodwin QC said: ‘The draconian 15% cut to Crown court sitting days for 2019/20 needs to be reversed as the MoJ’s own latest figures for April to June this year now confirm a quarter on quarter increase in the criminal case backlog.'

Four men have been convicted so far under the new 'upskirting' legislation, the Crown Prosecution Service can reveal. Prosecutors have brought charges of both recording and operating equipment under clothing without consent, using the Voyeurism (Offences) Act which came into force in England and Wales on 12 April.

A legal challenge has been lodged against the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over its handling of rape cases after the number of people charged hit a new low. The End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition has accused the authority of covertly changing the way it prosecutes alleged rapists, amid controversy over the seizure of victims’ phones and personal records.

The CPS insists there has been “no change of policy” but now faces a judicial review after papers were lodged at the High Court on Tuesday. Official figures show that while the number of alleged rapes reported to police have risen by 173 per cent in five years, the number charged has halved in the same period to the lowest figure on record.

The government is to spend £10m on arming more officers with electric stun guns, despite police chiefs and human rights groups voicing strong concerns about the impact the weapons have on trust in the police... The additional funding would put stun guns into the hands of 10,000 police officers, roughly 10% of the total employed in England and Wales.