The average time for rape cases to be resolved in court has reached a record high of 386 days, according to new figures. This marks a significant increase since the Labour government took office in July 2024, with a 61-day jump compared to the previous period.
Separate data shows that the average wait from a rape suspect being charged to the case's conclusion in court is 409 days. This figure is only slightly below the peak of 416 days seen in the second quarter of 2021, when COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns were impacting court operations.
For all criminal cases, the average waiting time from charge to completion stands at 189 days, an increase from 176 days prior to the general election. However, this remains below the peak of 222 days recorded at the end of 2021.
These delays occur amid a widening court backlog, which has surged by nearly 100,000 cases since the general election to a record high of over 460,000. Specifically, 80,829 cases were awaiting hearing in Crown Courts at the end of June, with an additional 380,230 cases in magistrates' courts, representing a nine percent increase year-over-year.
The government's plans to address the backlog, which had been under development for over two years, saw a key element abandoned last month by Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The proposal to remove jury trials in thousands of cases annually, replacing them with judge-alone trials, was controversial. While judge-only trials will still proceed for complex and lengthy cases, initially for fraud cases, concerns have been raised by the Criminal Bar Association about potential broader application and the risk of a "two-tier justice system."