Victim Support responds to quarterly Criminal Court Statistics

30 June 2016

Mark Castle, Chief Executive of independent charity Victim Support, said:

“These figures show that victims of the most serious offences waited longer than ever for justice in 2015. A victim of a serious offence having to wait more than seven months for their case to be heard in court, where an offender has pleaded not guilty, is simply not acceptable. Neither is the wide disparity between regions for both waiting times and the effectiveness of criminal trials.

“It is clear that the continued failure to tackle waiting times for court cases is putting an unacceptable strain on victims and witnesses, and is undermining public confidence in the criminal justice system. This is why Victim Support is calling on the Government and criminal justice agencies to take effective action to bring waiting times down to a maximum of 12 weeks in both the magistrates’ and the Crown Court, and for proper accountability and oversight of the criminal justice system at a local and national level.”