Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
12th August 2011
Magistrates Court Statistics (Provisional Statistics)
April to June 2011
Figures published today by the NI Courts and Tribunals Service in the quarterly Magistrates Court Bulletin outline the Magistrates court business received and dealt with from the quarter April to June 2011.
During the quarter;
- There were 1,170 scheduled magistrates’ sittings
- There were 66 additional magistrates’ sittings
- 14,554 new adult criminal defendants were received in court and 14,421 adult defendants were disposed of
- The average waiting time in the adult criminal court from first hearing to disposal was 7 weeks
Ends
Notes for Editors
During Apr – Jun 2011:
- There were 1,126 scheduled magistrates’ sittings of which:
| Criminal |
747 |
| Youth |
134 |
| Family |
245 |
- There were 79 additional magistrates’ sittings of which:
| Criminal |
71 |
| Youth |
1 |
| Family |
7 |
- 13,017 new adult criminal defendants were received in court and 13,123 adult defendants were disposed of during the period. (Figure 1)
Figure 1: Percentage of adults entered and disposed of in the court divisions
| |
Adults received |
Adults disposed |
| Craigavon |
11% |
11% |
| Ards |
12% |
12% |
| Armagh |
12% |
12% |
| Fermanagh |
15% |
16% |
| Antrim |
12% |
11% |
| Londonderry |
11% |
10% |
| Belfast |
28% |
28% |
- The majority (77%) of prosecutions disposed of in the adult court were brought by PSNI/ PPS.
- The volume of adult business was highest in the Division of Belfast
- The average waiting time in the adult criminal court from first hearing to disposal was 7 weeks. (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Waiting times in weeks in adult magistrates’ courts (1st hearing to disposal)
| Craigavon |
7.2 |
| Ards |
7.3 |
| Armagh |
6.4 |
| Fermanagh |
6.1 |
| Antrim |
6.7 |
| Londonderry |
5.6 |
| Belfast |
7.8 |
- 716 new defendants were entered in the youth court and 802 youth defendants were disposed of in the youth court.
- The average waiting time in the youth court from first hearing to disposal was 12 weeks.
Important Notes:
Figures are computed from a live database and may change due to late returns and further validations.
Date of disposal is based on the date of sentencing, date of acquittal or date a bill of indictment is not proceeded with.
Waiting times do not exclude recess.
The full version is available at: www.courtsni.gov.uk
If you have any further queries or if you have difficulty viewing the figures please contact:
Press Team
Communications Group
Northern Ireland Court Service
Laganside House
23-27 Oxford Street
Belfast
BT1 3LA
Tel. 028 9041 2284