Crown Court Bulletin

April - June 2009 (PROVISIONAL FIGURES)

• Table 1 Crown Court cases received
• Table 2 Crown Court cases disposed
• Table 3 Crown Court defendants received
• Table 4 Crown Court defendants disposed
• Table 5 Average waiting times in days
• Table 6 Crown Court defendants disposed by judge type
• Table 7 Crown Court defendants disposed by charge type
• Table 8 Outcome of Crown Court defendants
• Table 9 Crown Court sitting times

Important Notes:

• Figures are run from a live database and may change due to late returns and further validations.
• The number of defendants is based on the number of defendants disposed of from April to June 2009.
• 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.

Summary

• Cases received and dealt with:
  There were 364 Crown cases received during April to June 2009.  This is a 1% decrease on the 367 received during April to June 2008. The cases dealt with have decreased by 29% from 448 in April to June 2008, to 317 in 2009.
• Defendants received and dealt with:
  460 defendants were received in Crown Court during April to June 2009 (a 1% decrease on the same period last year). 420 defendants were dealt with during April to June 2009 (a decrease of 23% against the same period last year)
• Waiting times:
  The average time from committal to hearing for April to June 2009 was 111 days, a decrease of 13% against the same period in 2008. The average time from conviction to disposal was 36 days, a decrease of 8% against the same period in 2008.
• Disposals:
  County Court Judges disposed of 95% of defendants (398), and 14% of defendants were charged solely with offences against the person. 39% of defendants had a combination of charges.
• Pleas and findings:
  Of the 420 defendants disposed, 39% pleaded guilty to all charges and were therefore found guilty on all charges.
• Crown Court sittings:
  In total there were 633 Crown court sittings for April to June 2009 in comparison to 886 for April to June 2008 (a decrease of 29%), with a total time of 1704 hours sat compared to 2089 hours sat during the same period last year.
  (Please note that Easter recess took place in April in 2009, as opposed to March 2008).

Table 1 - Crown Court cases received

Table 2 - Crown Court cases disposed

Table 3 - Crown Court defendants received

Table 4 - Crown Court defendants disposed

Table 5 - Waiting times in days

[1] Excludes defendants who had a bench warrant or deferred sentence

Table 6 - Crown Court defendants disposed by judge type

Table 7 - Crown Court defendants disposed by charge type

Table 8 - Outcome of Crown Court Defendants

Table 9 - Crown Court sitting times