Criminal court statistics quarterly: January to March 2023
Type and volume of cases received and processed through the criminal court system of England and Wales, including statistics on case timeliness.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
This is the quarterly Q1 2023 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 March 2023.
The figures published today continue to reflect the impacts on the criminal court caseload following the resolution of Criminal Bar Association action in October 2022.
The effective trial rate increased at both magistrates’ and Crown Courts, while the volume of ‘not guilty plea’ disposals (i.e., those following a trial) increased markedly.
Timeliness estimates at both magistrates’ and Crown Court continue to increase, a result of cases completing including those impacted by the Criminal Bar Association action and in some cases, the suspension of jury trial during the pandemic.
The outstanding caseload at the Crown Court fell back slightly compared to the previous quarter but published His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service Management Information for April 2023 shows the first increase seen since October 2022.
Criminal court statistics quarterly, April to June 2023
The next criminal court statistics publication is scheduled for release on 28th September 2023.
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; Director General, Performance, Strategy and Analysis; Director, Access to Justice; Director General, Chief Financial Officer; 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; 3 Press Officers.
Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service
Chief Executive; Deputy Chief Executive; Deputy Director of Legal Services, Court Users and Summary Justice Reform; Head of Operational Performance; Head of data and management information; Head of Management Information Systems; Jurisdictional Operation manager (Crime); Head of Contracted Services.