The backlog of crown court cases doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of victims and defendants locally still awaiting justice.
Lewes Crown Court and its satellite courts in Brighton, Hove and Chichester had 959 outstanding cases at the end of last September, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
This was 60 fewer than the backlog of 1,019 cases at the end of June but 135 higher than at the end of September 2020 – and many had been outstanding for more than a year.
The number of uncompleted cases is almost 90 per cent higher than before the pandemic. In September 2019, there were 514 cases outstanding at Lewes Crown Court.
Of the outstanding cases at the end of September 2021, some 246 (26 per cent) related to defendants charged with carrying out violent attacks.
And 149 cases (16 per cent) involved charges related to sex offences.
Nationally, there were 59,900 cases waiting to be dealt with by crown courts in England and Wales at the end of September.
This was slight dip of 1 per cent compared to June last year but a 17 per cent rise from 51,280 outstanding cases in September 2020.
Now, magistrates are to be given the power to sentence people to longer in prison to try to tackle the build up of cases in the criminal courts.
But critics branded the move a “sticking plaster” solution and warned that it could have the opposite effect and add to the backlog.
Under plans announced by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, the maximum sentence that magistrates can hand down will be doubled to a year.
Currently, crimes warranting a jail term of more than six months are automatically sent to the crown court for sentencing.
Keeping more cases in magistrates’ courts, which have been “less severely affected” by covid, means that crown courts can better focus their resources on tackling the backlog, according to the MoJ.
Mr Raab said: “This important measure will provide vital additional capacity to drive down the backlog of cases in the crown courts over the coming years.”
But Labour’s Shadow Courts and Sentencing Minister, Alex Cunningham, said that the move was “another sticking plaster” solution.
Mr Cunningham said: “Ministers must give assurances that greater powers for magistrates won’t inflict even more burden on crown courts – with increased numbers of appeals overloading a diminishing number of criminal advocates left in the system.”
And the chairman of the Bar Council, Mark Fenhalls, warned that the changes could increase the prison population and put further pressure on the MoJ budget.
The extra powers for magistrates are expected to come into force in the coming months.
They will apply only to “either-way” offences which can be dealt with by magistrates or crown court judges.
This will mean that defendants can still opt to have their case heard by a jury in a crown court.
Bev Higgs, national chair of the Magistrates’ Association, which has campaigned for sentencing powers to be extended, said that the organisation was “delighted” with the announcement.
She added: “It is absolutely the right time to re-align where cases are heard to ensure a safe, effective and efficient justice system.”
