The number of Crown Court cases still awaiting an outcome has continued to increase in recent months, with more than 120 Isle of Wight cases still active. New figures show that in Q3 of this year (July-September), a total of 129 cases allocated to the Isle of Wight Crown Court were still awaiting an outcome – an increase of 17 year-on-year. Analysis of data from the Ministry of Justice shows that the COVID pandemic has had a massive effect on the justice system, as well as a more recent barrister strike. At the start of 2020, there were 66 cases active here on the Island. But by the end of the same year that number had skyrocketed to 102 – a number that has only continued to increase. At the end of 2022, there were still 110 cases awaiting an outcome. Throughout this year that figure has continued to grow to 118 by March, 126 by June and 129 by the end of September. The number of outstanding cases could well exceed 130 for the first time by the end of December. Of the 129 cases still awaiting an outcome, 40 of them relate to violent offences against the person; 20 are sexual offences and 10 relate to possession of weapons. A further 9 cases relate to drug offences, 7 public order, 6 thefts, 4 robberies. There are a further 18 miscellaneous crimes against society, 13 of unknown nature and 2 summary offences. 
Despite the pandemic falling away quite some time ago now, courts have simply been unable to catch up. Island Echo is aware of at least 1 trial that has been pushed back from December to September next year as Crown Court space is at a premium. The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, has said that the pandemic nor the strikes can be solely blamed:
“For the second straight quarter in a row, we are witnessing a new record high in the number of outstanding cases in the Crown Court. This is of grave concern. “This cannot be solely attributed to the barristers’ strike, which concluded more than a year ago, or the pandemic. It suggests there are wider systemic problems in our justice system, and I am concerned that chronic and unacceptable delays are becoming ingrained in the system. This must never be normalised nor tolerated. “Over a quarter of all cases are now outstanding for over a year and this proportion is steadily increasing. This is causing victims real and undue distress, as it potentially means they face a wait of months and possibly years before they see justice being done. This has real consequences for our justice system, with many victims unable to last the distance, resulting in prosecutions having to be dropped. “Urgent and creative intervention is needed to address this crisis. No victim should be expected to wait years before their case gets to court. ”
The average duration of a Crown Court case across the Hampshire and Isle of Wight region now sits at 198 days – up from 68 days in 2019 – with 58 cases currently remaining unresolved for 2 years or more.
