Alleged rapists, violent criminals and drug offenders have been out on bail for more than a year, leaving crime victims living in fear as delayed cases pile up across the region’s Crown Courts.

Victims and defendants in more than 1,200 trials have waited longer than a year to have their day in court, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Lives are in limbo, victims are suffering and innocent people could be languishing in jail as court backlogs threaten to overwhelm the criminal justice system, experts have warned.

North East figures suggest defendants in 182 Crown Court cases have been behind bars for more than a year – and dozens for more than two years – awaiting trial.

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And outside of the region’s prison walls, people accused of rape, violent offences and drug crimes were among more than 1,000 allowed out on bail over a year ago.

The Northern Echo: Victim stock image

Victims are left anxious and afraid when defendants are out on bail

Prolonged periods of bail – where defendants are released from custody to await their trial – can leave victims anxious and afraid, according to charity Victim Support.

Among those remanded on bail for a year or longer in the North East were alleged perpetrators linked to 39 rape trials; hundreds of other sex offences; more than 200 violent crimes and in excess of 160 drug trials.

Echo analysis of stark Ministry of Justice figures found the number of trial cases where people were bailed for over a year is at its highest since at least 2014, the earliest data available.

In the first quarter of that year, there were 168 cases – at the end of March this year, there were 1,034.

That’s more than six times as many and in nearly 200 cases, trials had been outstanding for more than two years – up from just 42 in 2014.

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The Criminal Bar Association and the Law Society are among those calling on the Government to take urgent action to invest in the criminal justice system to ensure there are enough judges and lawyers to cover a “mountain of cases”.

They say decades of underfunding and cuts have contributed to a crisis that long predates the coronavirus pandemic.

CBA chair Jo Sidhu QC said the crisis has escalated to a “perfect storm”, with insufficient judges, prosecutors and defenders available to tackle a huge backlog of cases.

The Northern Echo: Chair of Criminal Bar Association Jo Sidhu speaks outside the Old Bailey, central London

Jo Sidhu QC, chair of the CBA, outside Old Bailey

He added: “If it was running on vapours before Covid, today exhausted prosecutors and defenders are doing the equivalent of pushing a broken down car up a steep hill with two flat tyres and no spare wheel.”

A spokesman for the Law Society echoed the concerns and said the courts were “crumbling” as victims and defendants face unacceptable delays in accessing justice.

He said problems had been exacerbated by the pandemic, adding: “Innocent defendants face years in limbo before their name is cleared, while victims’ suffering is compounded by the long wait for justice.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government has introduced measures to improve the justice system, including the extension of unlimited sitting days, the extension of Nightingale court rooms and the opening of virtual courtrooms across all jurisdictions.

To help retain judges and magistrates, it has also raised the statutory mandatory retirement age to 75 for judicial office holders.

A MoJ spokesman said its “decisive action” kept justice moving despite the pandemic’s impact, with the total number of outstanding cases falling by seven per cent in the North East as a result.

Victim Support’s chief executive, Diana Fawcett, said delays were having a devastating impact on victims by delaying access to justice, causing more emotional trauma and stopping them from moving on with their lives.

She said far-reaching problems must be tackled to ensure justice is done and to prevent victims from losing faith in the criminal justice system altogether.

 

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