Yahoo News ‘Devastating blow’ to crime victims as half of courtrooms lie idle
Barristers today warned that a decision to allow dozens of crown courtrooms in London and elsewhere to stand idle is inflicting a “devastating blow” on victims of crime waiting to see offenders brought to justice.
The rebuke came as a snapshot survey showed that as many as half the courtrooms in the capital and other major cities and towns are not in use this week, despite the record levels of knife crime and high rates of other violent offending.
The Old Bailey and crown courts in Southwark, Snaresbrook, Wood Green, Kingston and Croydon were among the locations with half or more of their courtrooms unused yesterday.
The overall number of closures nationwide revealed by the survey, compiled by a senior criminal barrister using submissions from colleagues, totalled 127 out of 260 of the courtrooms which could have be in action.
Richard Atkins QC, chairman of the Bar Council, called for the recent extra funding announced by the Prime Minister for policing to be matched with more money for the courts. He said: “The news that so many crown courts are sitting empty will come as a devastating blow to those victims of crime who are waiting for justice to be done.”
"This is nothing to do with a lack of work. Cases are being listed well into next year because of the squeeze on capacity"
Chris Henley QC chairman of the Criminal Bar Association
Chris Henley QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “This is nothing to do with a lack of work. Cases are being listed well into next year because of the squeeze on capacity.”
Evening Standard analysis of recent trends in London shows that Wood Green crown court used an average of just over half its courtrooms through July. Even the Old Bailey, the country’s top criminal court, had an average closure rate of almost 20 per cent.
A spokesman for HM Courts and Tribunals denied that cost-cutting or a shortage of judges was to blame and insisted that courtrooms were being closed because of the decline in prosecutions reaching crown court. “Last year saw a 12 per cent reduction in crown court trial cases and the allocation of sitting days reflects this.
“Waiting times for these cases are the shortest since 2014.”
