Agenda item

1.    Following a report on the Criminal Justice System (CJS) that was presented at the 16 July 2024 Panel meeting, this report provided an update on the challenges facing the CJS in Kent and the work of partner organisations and the Kent Criminal Justice Board (KCJB) which was chaired by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

2.    Kent’s PCC, Mr Matthew Scott, thanked the previous Panel’s Chair, Mr Mike Hill, for his excellent chairmanship and long service as Chair of the Panel. He congratulated Mr Sandher and Mr Moreland for their appointments as the Panel’s new Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.

3.    The Commissioner said that he chaired the Criminal Justice Board, whose membership included: Kent Police, Kent County Council, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the courts, Legal Aid Society and the Defence Community. A key role of the Board was to oversee the CJS and bring partners together to improve performance.

4.    The Commissioner explained that Kent experienced one of the highest levels of backlogs in court caseloads in the country. Although there had been a backlog for a long time, it had increased sharply in recent years.

5.    There were a number of reasons for this. In recent years policing had put more work into the system. Compared to pre-Pandemic levels, the Police had charged 50% more people, so therefore more work was entering the system. Also, during the Pandemic, Kent's courts were not equipped appropriately for managing social distancing effectively.

6.    There was a shortage of judges to hear cases in the Crown Court, as well as a shortage of legal advisors in Magistrates Courts. These problems were putting a significant strain on victims and witnesses, who were having to wait a long time for their cases to be heard. It also put pressure on the staff managing these cases. The Kent Victim and Witness Care Team did an exceptional job supporting victims and keeping them engaged in the CJ system. The Commissioner said that the backlogs in court caseloads was a national issue.

7.    A number of measures had been implemented to tackle the backlog. Communication between the CPS and Kent Police during the trial/hearing process had improved; this ensured that queries could be dealt with expeditiously, reducing case delays. From June 2025, live streaming communication between the CPS, Kent Police Criminal Justice Unit (CJU) and VWCU would be rolled out. A number of Legal Advisor trainees were about to start working in the courts in the coming months. It was hoped that, as a result, there would be a reduction in Kent’s backlog.

8.    Additional activity was taking place in an effort to tackle the backlog. In terms of out-of-court resolutions, there had been a significant increase as there was a need for effective diversion and rehabilitation for first-time offenders. Also, making sure that prisoner transport contractors managed more effectively their capacity and delivered offenders to courts in a timely manner.

9.    Two recent initiatives might also help to address this problem. One was the government's announcement of investment in prison places to build more capacity. The other was the Leveson Review (2025), which proposed a number of reforms around diversion and more efficient resolutions.

10.The Chair asked whether the Commissioner foresaw when the backlog would decrease.

a.    The Commissioner said that, in the short term, the increase in sitting days would help maintain current levels. In the medium to long term, he hoped that the Leveson Review would bring about a caseload reduction in magistrates courts and crown courts.

11.The Vice-Chair said that there was unused capacity at Maidstone Magistrates Court, and asked whether there had been any consideration of expanding use to deal with, for example, remand prisoners for the rest of the week.

a.    The Commissioner said that he was not aware of unused capacity and offered to look into it.

12.In reply to a question about the backlog volume in Kent’s Crown Court, the Commissioner said it was around 2,000 cases.

13.In answer to whether data on the demographics of victims withdrawing from court proceedings due to the extended wait times was collected, the Commissioner confirmed that it was and that those considering withdrawing were engaged with to determine if further support could be provided.

RESOLVED: That the Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel note this report and agree to a further update at their 21 July 2026 meeting.