Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
Magistrates Court Statistics (Provisional Statistics) October - December 2010

11th February 2011

Figures published today by the NI Courts and Tribunals Service in the quarterly Magistrates Court Bulletin outline the Crown court business received and dealt with from the quarter October to December 2010.

During the quarter;

• There were 1,155 scheduled magistrates’ sittings
• There were 69 additional magistrates’ sittings
• 13,560 new adult criminal defendants were received in court and 13,502 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 Oct - Dec 2010:

• There were 1,155 scheduled magistrates’ sittings of which:
  Criminal 768
  Youth 135
  Family 252
• There were 69 additional magistrates’ sittings of which:
  Criminal 64
  Youth 3
  Family 2
• 13,560 new adult criminal defendants were received in court and 13,502 adult defendants were disposed of during the period. (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Percentage of adults entered and disposed of in the court divisions

• The majority of prosecutions disposed 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)

• 803 new defendants were entered in the youth court and 972 youth defendants were disposed of in the youth court
•  The average waiting time in the youth court from first hearing to disposal was 11 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: http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Publications/Targets_and_Performance/p_tp_MagistratesCourtBulletin_OctDec_2010.htm

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