Justice delayed, left in limbo and denied closure: Human toll of gruelling Crown Court delays on victims revealed

Notes to editors

NOTES TO EDITORS

• An embargoed copy of the report (attached below).
• A photo of the Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove (attached below).
• The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales is a public body and independent voice for victims and witnesses, scrutinising criminal justice agencies and government when it comes to the treatment and experiences of victims and holding them to account.
• Under the Victims and Prisoners Act, relevant agencies and the government are required to respond to the report's recommendations within 56 days. These responses will be made publicly available on the Victims' Commissioner's website.
  • o Read more about Baroness Newlove, the role of the Victims’ Commissioner, and its expanded statutory powers.

The report

• As things stand, the report will be published on the Victims’ Commissioner’s website on Tuesday 4 March.
• The findings are based on primary research conducted by the Office of the Victims’ Commissioner in 2024, including a survey and interviews with victims and a survey with victim services staff. Based on these findings, the Victims’ Commissioner makes key, actionable recommendations for justice agencies and policymakers to consider.
•  *’Management Information Data’, provided by HMCTS, showed that the number of completed Crown Court cases that had been rearranged more than three times on the day of trial (defined as an ‘ineffective trial’), was four times higher in 2023/24 than it was in 2019/20.
• **Name changed to protect anonymity.

Key findings

• The unprecedented backlog experienced by the Crown Court system means that victims commonly face delays and adjournments.
• These delays cause victims debilitating stress and trauma.
• The Crown Court backlog damages victims’ lives and futures, with prolonged waits and further disruption following adjournments adversely affecting victims’ financial situation, job situation and ability to maintain their daily functioning.
• The effectiveness of the criminal justice system and victims’ confidence in its ability to deliver justice is at risk due to the delays in the Crown Court system.
• Delays impede victim services’ ability to provide support.
• Poor communication—such as victims receiving information about how long a case can take to get to trial and why as well as trials being rearranged at very short notice—compounds the impact of the Crown Court backlog on victims.

Key recommendations

1. Improve the victim experience of the criminal justice system.

The government to explore how victims whose case is going to trial might be given a single point of contact to improve communication and ensure their Victims’ Code entitlements are delivered.

2. Make court processes more transparent and efficient.

The restoration of an Independent Courts Inspectorate so that the operation of the Court Service is subject to rigorous independent scrutiny.

3. Ensure victim services can provide support to victims as they wait for the case to get to trial.

Providing emergency funding to victim support services to help them cope with increased caseloads arising from the court backlog crisis.

Victim services funding crisis

• Read Baroness Newlove’s December 2024 op-ed about planned cuts to victim support services.

The Crown Court system in England and Wales—overview

• There are 70 Crown Court centres across England and Wales (a number of these are currently closed, for maintenance and repair work).
• In 2020, temporary ‘Nightingale’ courts were introduced to alleviate the pressure on courts during the pandemic and many of these remain open. In November 2024, there were seven ‘Nightingale’ courts providing additional Crown Court capacity.

The independent review of the criminal courts (the ‘Leveson’ review)

• Read the Victims’ Commissioner’s statement in response to the review being announced.
• Find out more about the review on GOV.UK.

Anonymous quotes from victims and support workers who responded to the survey

The impact of the Crown Court backlog on victims’ wellbeing (p.20 onwards)

1. It's those two and then three years of just waiting and it's like going to the lion's den, you feel like it's getting closer and you're getting more anxious…At one point prior to the 2021 call, I actually did go for an ECG at my doctor's because I was having so many chest pains. But it was just pure stress. (Victim)

2. It was all because of the constant delays, the crime itself was horrendous enough, but then the delays on top of it and then the build up inside of you is just horrendous. (Victim)

3. Uncertainty of anything in life can cause emotional stress and turmoil so when we consider the 'what if' being faced by those awaiting a criminal justice outcome, the impact is nothing short of debilitating. Remaining in a constant state of stress has both physical and emotional impacts on victims. (Head of Victim Services)

4. The uncertainty and prolonged waiting periods have heightened anxiety, stress, and emotional distress for the victims. The delays keep them in a state of constant worry about the outcome. (Therapist for sexual violence and domestic abuse victims)

5. I was fairly agoraphobic. I was having panic attacks. I was diagnosed with PTSD in between Section 28 and him being convicted. …. I just felt the only way I can describe it was like I was in a waiting room that I hadn’t been allowed out of for years. That's how it felt but with all the anxiety associated with a situation that you have no control over. (Victim)

6. I got a call back saying that it had been relisted for the 29th of April, which is nearly nine months away. I literally ended up having a full blown panic attack in the middle of my living room floor curled up in a ball with my 11 year old going “mummy breathe”. (Victim)

7. Victims and witnesses have also become unwell and have developed anxiety and depression due to delays within the court system. (Witness Care Officer)

8. By you doing this [adjourning] …there's going to be so many repercussions from this. Because of abuse and everything, I ended up alcohol dependent. I went through treatment. I was like, you are literally like putting my recovery at risk. (Victim)

9. While waiting for the outcomes of police investigators and the court cases to be held, young people are subject to long periods of mental and emotional anguish...They often resort to self-harming or risky behaviours to help them cope. (Child Sexual Abuse Project Worker and Therapist)

Victims’ ability to move on in their life and recover (p.22 onwards)

1. I'm 30 now and I was 25 when I reported. I feel like I can't remember the second half of my 20s. The only memory I've got of the second half of my 20s is going through the court system because that's all you can think about and your life gets put on hold… literally it's like I woke up one day and I'd lost five years of my life. (Victim)

2. Many of my younger clients have lost the majority of their childhoods waiting for court and this has affected their schooling, choosing to go to college … How can they move on in their life with this still hanging over them and no closure given to them. (ISVA)

3. My client’s education is often severely impacted, particularly if the perpetrator is in the same school because the schools cannot act without a conviction. I have had many clients who have had to leave/move school, away from their friends because of this. This experience can potentially affect the whole trajectory of their lives. (Children's ISVA)

4. They have a huge impact on my clients often waiting years for cases to come to court. This often coincides with significant teenage years including exams. (Children and Young People’s Sexual Violence Advisor)

Types of Crown Court trial and victims’ experiences of these (p.16 onwards)

1. I have a current case that's had 5 trial attempts since 2021, and each time it's been listed as a floater/backer trial. This is when the case has no judge or court room assigned to it and it 'floats' around until a court room becomes available to take the case. Too many of these are listed and most will not go ahead. (Victim & Witness Support Officer) p. 16

2. Every day you’re just worrying, for two weeks… I don’t think it’s right… I was waiting daily again, between 4:00 and 5:00pm, to know whether I was in court for two weeks, which was horrendous. Your mind is kind of doing overdrive, so you're up being sick and worrying anyway. And then the next day, you're doing the same for weeks, just thinking, is it going to go [ahead]? (Victim)

Communication during the court process (p.50 onwards)

1. That was the hardest [adjournment], because I've not been given an explanation… Emotionally, it's just like, oh, this is going to drag on for another few months. And I think the hardest part is just not knowing why… these are set dates and then they didn't go ahead and you're not given any reason at all. Yeah, that's probably the worst part for me. (Victim)

2. Every time it was postponed, I was only told either on the day that it was due to start, or the Friday…before the Monday it was due to start. So, literally the previous working day. And every single time, I was given no indication that there was any possibility that it wouldn't go ahead. (Victim)

3. What are you playing at? … Why have I just driven an hour and a half to come in?...You've made me walk into the courtroom, like, have to go through all of that. So yeah, it was awful. Absolutely horrible. Just that kind of crap communication. (Victim)

4. I was ready to attend court to give my evidence, and then I think it was an hour or two hours before, I was called to say that it wouldn't be going ahead. (Victim)

Impact on victim services (p.41 onwards)

1. Our caseloads show that we used to support clients for 6-12 months through the courts, but now we are supporting them for 2-5 years, with no additional funding. This is unsustainable for the majority of Sexual Violence organisations and it puts intolerable pressure on services needed for other clients. Wait lists are increasing in length from zero wait list, to wait lists of a few weeks or months for counselling, which is too much for anyone in crisis. (Chief Executive Officer of sexual abuse support organisation)