'Unacceptable" delays for crime victims in Derbyshire court trials

The Law Society said the record high proportion of ‘ineffective’ trials across England and Wales will cause "unacceptable" delays for victims and warned government underfunding is a key cause.

Ministry of Justice figures showed there were 171 trials listed at Derby Crown Court in 2021.

Of them, 20% were classed as ineffective – meaning they had to be adjourned to a later date – up from 12% the year before, and the most since records began in 2010.

Of the 35 ineffective trials at Derby Crown Court last year, 12 involved alleged sexual offences, followed by drug offences (four) and public order offences.

Trials are labelled ‘ineffective’ for many reasons, including the defence or prosecution not being ready, witnesses being absent or “overlisting” – which means some cases will only be heard if court time becomes available.

A further 26% trials at Derby Crown Court last year were cracked – when the Crown Prosecution Service drops the case or the defendant pleads guilty – and 53% were ‘effective’ meaning they went ahead.

Of the 21,805 crown court trials across England and Wales last year, just 48% were ‘effective’ – the lowest in a decade.

Meanwhile, the proportion of ineffective trials rose to 23% – the most since comparable records began in 2010.

The Law Society of England and Wales said victims are facing are "unacceptable" delays, some wait years for justice, while potentially innocent defendants are left in limbo.

I. Stephanie Boyce, President of the Law Society, said the pandemic was one factor, but lack of capacity in the system was another.

She said: "Decades of underfunding and cuts mean there simply aren’t enough judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers to cover the huge backlog of cases.

Jeffrey DeMarco, assistant director at Victim Support, said this suggests victims are facing a "postcode lottery."

He added: "We are seriously concerned that effective trials in England and Wales have reached these lows.”

The MoJ said its almost half a billion investment in court recovery shows it is doing everything it can to deliver swifter access to justice.