The crisis in the courts: Before and beyond COVID

One year after the first COVID lockdown the backlog at the Magistrates' and Crown Courts together totalled approximately half a million cases. This article reports on the impact of court delays on domestic abuse victims using data from the ESRC-funded 'Shadow Pandemic' project. Using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of criminology 2022-07, Vol.62 (4), p.1036-1053
Main Authors: Godfrey, Barry, Richardson, Jane C, Walklate, Sandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Courts
COVID-19 (Disease)
Criminology
Family violence
Jury
Legal status, laws, etc
Social aspects
Victims of crimes
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Summary:One year after the first COVID lockdown the backlog at the Magistrates' and Crown Courts together totalled approximately half a million cases. This article reports on the impact of court delays on domestic abuse victims using data from the ESRC-funded 'Shadow Pandemic' project. Using this data as illustrative, the paper goes on to discuss the causes of delays in all criminal cases, challenging the assertion that COVID caused the backlog. Instead, the paper contends that austerity measures have been the underlying cause with COVID merely extending the scale of the crisis. The paper then questions whether post-COVID recovery plans are realistic, particularly in relation to any increase in remote hearings and out of court disposals. It concludes that a more fundamental shift needs to take place in dealing with criminal cases to enable speedier and more effective access to justice for victims of all crimes including domestic abuse.
ISSN:0007-0955
1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azab110