Crown court backlog hits record with 1,212 cases outstanding in city

THE crown court backlog in England and Wales has risen to a record level.

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New data shows the open caseload was 78,329 at the end of June, up 2% from 76,957 at the end of March, when the backlog passed 75,000 for the first time. It is also up 10% from 70,893 a year earlier, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

Some 19,164 cases had been open for at least a year at the end of June, up 17% from 16,378 a year earlier and the highest since current data began. Open caseload refers to the number of outstanding cases.