11th February 2011
Figures published today by the NI Courts and Tribunals Service in the quarterly Crown Court Bulletin outline the Crown court business received and dealt with from the quarter October to December 2010.
During the quarter;
Ends
During Oct - Dec 2010:
There were 420 Crown cases received during October to December 2010. This was a 22% increase on the 344 received during October to December 2009
534 defendants were received in Crown Court during October to December 2010 (a 22% increase since the same period last year, when 436 defendants were received).
The average time from committal to hearing for October to December 2010 was 118 days, compared with 111 days for the same period in 2009.
County Court Judges disposed of 97% of defendants (424). 16% of defendants were charged solely with offences against the person while 35% of defendants had a combination of charges.
Of the 439 defendants disposed, 198 (45%) pleaded guilty to all charges.
In total there were 802 Crown court sittings for October to December 2010 compared with 687 for October to December 2009 (an increase of 17%), with a total time of 2370 hours sat compared with 2074 hours sat during the same period last year.
(Please note that Christmas recess took place during December 2010).
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: http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Publications/Targets_and_Performance/p_tp_CrownCourtBulletin_OctDec_2010.htm
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