Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2021
Type and volume of cases received and processed through the criminal court system of England and Wales, including statistics on case timeliness. Also includes statistics on the use of language interpreter and translation services in courts and tribunals, England and Wales.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This is the quarterly Q3 2021 criminal courts statistics publication.
The statistics here focus on key trends in case volume and progression through the criminal court system in England and Wales. This also includes:
- Experimental statistics on ‘the use of language interpreter and translation services in courts and tribunals;
Additional data tools and CSVs have also been provided.
Statisticians comment
This report covers the period to the end of September 2021 and continues to show the impact of the COVID-19 response on criminal courts and the recovery from measures put in place to minimise risks to court users.
Following the limited operation of the criminal courts, particularly during Spring 2020, and the gradual reintroduction of jury trials during the reporting period, the figures published today show the continued recovery in the system.
The volume of listed trials at both the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court continues to increase, returning to pre-COVID levels.
Disposals at the magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts continue to rise from series lows in Q2 2020. Disposals were above receipts at the Crown Court meaning that the outstanding caseload has fallen for the first time since the end of 2018. The latest management information from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) to November 2021 show small monthly reductions in outstanding volumes beyond Q3 2021, suggesting that the Crown Court backlog is stabilising.
Timeliness estimates for defendants dealt with at the magistrates’ court show that durations have fallen back from series peaks but remain above pre-COVID levels. Whereas the continued impacts of the COVID response are still evident at the Crown Court where durations continue to increase.
Criminal court statistics quarterly, October to December 2021
The next criminal court statistics publication is scheduled for release on 31 March 2022.
Pre-release
In addition to Ministry of Justice (MOJ) professional and production staff, pre-release access to the quarterly statistics of up to 24 hours is granted to the following post holders:
Ministry of Justice
Permanent Secretary; Director General, Policy, Communications and Analysis; Director, Criminal Justice Policy; Deputy Director, Criminal Courts Policy; Criminal Court Reform Lead; Courts and Tribunal Recovery Unit; Jurisdictional and Operational Support Manager; Head of Data and Analytical Services; Chief Statistician; 5 Press Officers.
Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service
Chief Executive, HMCTS; Deputy Chief Executive, HMCTS; Deputy Director of Legal Services, Court Users and Summary Justice Reform; Head of Operational Performance; Head of Criminal Enforcement team, HMCTS; Head of data and management information, HMCTS; Head of Management Information Systems; Head of Communications; Head of News; Jurisdictional Operation manager and Head of Contracted Services and Performance for HMCTS Operations Directorate.