Rape victims forced to wait five months for suspects to be charged
Average wait is four times as long as for other crimes, as Crown Prosecution Service cases backlog rises 60pc during coronavirus pandemic
26 April 2021 • 10:00pm
Rape victims are being forced to wait four times longer than other victims of crime to discover whether their alleged attacker has been charged, official figures show.
They are having to wait five months on average to find out if a suspect will face criminal proceedings, according to data from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
It comes amid a 58.5 per cent increase in crown prosecutors’ backlog of cases, which have risen from 64,029 at the end of 2019 to 173,498 in the three months to March this year.
THE backlog in crown court cases has been described as “really unfair” for victims of crime and the wrongly accused, according to a leading barrister for the region. Ministry of Justice figures show that at the end of December 2020, the latest data available, Bournemouth Crown Court had 647 outstanding cases. This was an increase of 7.3 per cent from the end of September last year and 44.1 per cent at the end of 2019, when there were 449. Meanwhile, the number of cases concluded following a trial or sentencing hearing between October and December 2020 stood at 279. This was an increase of 38.8 per cent from the 201 cases dealt with in the previous quarter. The year-on-year figure for quarter four was down slightly from 286.
Nightingale court facilities extended for three months Justice minister Naomi Long said there were 8,000 criminal cases in the court system before the first lockdown last year, which rose to 12,800 when restrictions limited court operations. File picture by Mal McCann Rebecca Black, PA
Nightingale court facilities in Northern Ireland have been extended for another three months.
Justice Minister Naomi Long said the International Convention Centre (ICC) Belfast is being utilised as a venue for Covid-safe court and tribunal proceedings.
She said work is ongoing to reduce the backlog of cases built up prior to and during the pandemic.
Ms Long said there were 8,000 criminal cases in the court system before the first lockdown last year, which rose to 12,800 when restrictions limited court operations.
Judicial retirement age to rise to 75
Judges, magistrates, and coroners will be allowed to continue to serve until they are 75, as the Lord Chancellor today confirmed plans to increase their mandatory retirement age.
From:
government determined to retain expertise of experienced judicial post holders
part of move to boost recruitment and attract wider range of applicants
The move, which will raise the retirement age for judicial office holders from 70, is the first change to these rules in 27 years. It seeks to address the fact that people now work later into their lives, with the government determined not to lose valued judges, magistrates and coroners. This will provide greater flexibility for those judges who do not wish to retire at 70.
The court heard how Karl Hardwick, now an inmate at HMP Hewell, has mental health issues A PSYCHOTIC killer who cut grass with scissors and attacked a pensioner is expected to learn his fate today - after his sentence was delayed for a sixth time despite colossal pressure to clear the Covid court backlog. It was hoped that Karl Hardwick, who once kicked a Kidderminster dad-of-four to death, would be sentenced at last for fresh offences at Worcester Crown Court last Monday. However, the sentence is now listed for today. Courts across the country are working through a large backlog exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, hence the need to relieve pressure on the system.