The big picture: More than 140 cases at Ipswich Crown Court have been left unresolved for two years or more, with the average case taking 249 days to progress.
Why it matters: Long delays in court cases can:
Leave victims waiting for justice
Keep defendants in uncertainty
Create additional stress for witnesses
Impact public confidence in the justice system
What's happening: The government is taking two key steps to address the situation:
Moving appropriate cases to Cambridge Crown Court
Increasing Crown Court sitting days nationally to 106,500 – 500 more than previously agreed
What they're saying: Jack Abbott, MP for Ipswich, said it "means justice will be delivered for people in Ipswich and Suffolk as we look to fix our broken criminal justice system."
Courts Minister Heidi Alexander said the government is "fully committed to bearing down on the Crown Court case loads."
The bottom line: While steps are being taken to address the backlog, it remains unclear how many cases will be moved to Cambridge or how quickly the backlog might be reduced.
