Criminal court statistics quarterly: January to March 2016
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Criminal Court Statistics. This publication provides aggregated data on workload, effectiveness and timeliness in magistrates courts and the Crown Court. It is designed to provide a summary overview of the volume and types of cases dealt with by courts over time. The data available includes receipts, disposals and outstanding cases by case type, effective, ineffective and cracked trials, plea information, waiting times, hearing times and duration of cases from offence to completion by case type and offence. It is produced on a quarterly basis with extra information included in the June annual publication, such as unrepresented defendants, juror sitting days and election of the defendant.

Criminal court statistics 
quarterly, England and Wales 
 
January to March 2016 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
Published 30 June 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Contents  
Contents 
 
 
 1 
Introduction 
 
 
 2 
Changes and revisions in this publication 
 
 
 4 
Key Findings 
 
   
 6 
Criminal Courts 
 
 
 7 
1.  
Criminal cases in the magistrates’ courts 
 
   
 7 
2. 
Criminal cases in the Crown Court 
 
 
 9 
3. 
Timeliness 
 
           16 
Annex A: Enforcement of financial impositions  
 
 
   
        19 
Annex B: Legal representation in the Crown Court (experimental statistics)             22 
Annex C: Juror Statistics 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
           22  
Annex D: Election of the defendant (experimental statistics) 
 
  
           23 
Annex E: List of Accompanying Tables and CSV 
             24 
Annex F: Explanatory notes 
 
           27 
Previous editions 
 
           28 
Contacts 
 
           28 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
2 
 
Introduction 
 
The statistical bulletin 
 
This publication presents statistics relating to activity in criminal cases in magistrates’ 
courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales. It provides provisional figures for 
the latest quarter (January to March 2016), and annual figures for 2015 with 
accompanying commentary and analysis. The figures themselves give a summary 
overview of the volume of cases dealt with by these courts over time. The statistics 
are used to monitor court workloads, to assist in the development of policy, and their 
subsequent monitoring and evaluation.  
Information on the enforcement of financial impositions can be found in Annex A. 
Figures on the criminal courts charge, which was introduced on 13 April 2015 and 
ceased on 24 December 2015, are separately identified within the publication. The 
annex provides updated management information on the collection of financial 
impositions through Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).  
 
Annex B presents experimental statistics on legal representation of defendants at the 
Crown Court. Management information on juror summons and the juror utilisation 
rate for 2015 can be found in Annex C. Experimental statistics splitting defendants 
dealt with in Crown Court trials by election type (direction of magistrates or by election 
by defendant) are available for the first time in Annex D. 
 
 
Criminal Courts; an overview 
 
Magistrates’ courts  
 
Virtually all criminal court cases start in the magistrates’ courts. The less serious 
offences are handled entirely in magistrates’ courts, with over 90% of all cases being 
dealt with in this way. The more serious offences are passed on to the Crown Court, 
either for sentencing after the defendant has been found guilty in the magistrates’ 
court, or for trial with a judge and jury. 
 
As part of wider measures in the justice system, committal hearings were abolished 
nationally1 at the end of May 2013. As a result of the change, triable-either-way cases 
can now be sent straight to the Crown Court as soon as it is clear the matter is serious 
enough, rather than having to await a committal hearing.  
                                            
1 www.gov.uk/government/news/faster-justice-as-unneccessary-committal-hearings-are-abolished 

 
 
3 
 
The Crown Court  
 
The Crown Court deals with cases received from the magistrates’ courts for 
sentencing, trial or appeal against magistrates’ courts’ decision. 
Of those proceeded against in the magistrates’ courts, 6% of defendants go on to the 
Crown Court for trial. 
Triable-either-way cases can be sent to the Crown Court for trial if the magistrates’ 
courts decide the matter is serious enough or if a defendant elects to be tried by judge 
and jury.  
Indictable only cases can only be tried on indictment in the Crown Court as they 
cannot be heard summarily at the magistrates’ courts.  
Committed for sentence cases are transferred to the Crown Court for sentencing only 
after a defendant has been convicted in a magistrates’ court. This would occur where 
a magistrate believes that their sentencing powers are insufficient to apply an 
appropriate sanction to the defendant. 
 
In its appellate jurisdiction the Crown Court deals mainly with appeals against 
conviction and/or sentence in respect of criminal offences, including consequential 
orders, e.g. disqualification from driving, and against the making of certain standalone 
orders, e.g. Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. The Crown Court may dismiss or allow the 
appeal and vary all or any part of the sentence. Appeals are usually heard by a Circuit 
Judge sitting with no more than four lay magistrates (normally two). 
 
Average waiting time at the Crown Court 
 
‘Average waiting time’ is the time between sending a case to the Crown Court and 
the start of the substantive hearing. 
 
Average hearing time at the Crown Court 
 
 
The ‘average hearing time’ relates to the average duration of all hearings heard in 
the Crown Court, including preliminary hearings, main hearings, and hearings where 
a sentence is given to a defendant. 
 
Data and court processes 
 
Information about the systems and data included in this publication can be found in 
the ‘A guide to criminal court statistics’ which is published alongside this report. It 
also includes a glossary which provides brief definitions for the terms used in this 
report. 
 
www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-guide-to-criminal-court-statistics 

 
 
4 
 
Changes and revisions in this publication  
Revisions to Crown Court and representation tables 
 
Methodological improvements have been made to the collation process for these 
statistics, such as removing a small number of duplicate records.  There have 
therefore been minor revisions to 2014 figures in the annual Crown Court tables 
AC2, AC6-AC8 and legal representation tables B1-B3, and to 2010 and 2011 
figures in all Crown Court tables. 
 
Release of annual criminal court statistics quarterly tables  
 
Annual tables for magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court, including tabulated 
breakdowns by region, have been published as typical for each year. Figures for 
2015 have been revised accordingly across tables. See Annex E for a full list of 
tables released. 
 
Annual tables on legal representation in the Crown Court (Tables B1-B3) and juror 
statistics (Tables J1-J2) are also included, with commentary included in Annex B 
and Annex C for each respective area. 
 
First release of Crown Court receipts, disposals and outstanding tables by 
offence group (experimental statistics) 
 
The Crown Court table C1 is now available split by twelve offence groups (also 
used within the timeliness table T6). These cases have been categorised according 
to the latest Home Office offence classification. Separate tables C1a, C1b and C1c 
have been produced for receipts, disposals and outstanding cases, respectively, 
with commentary included in the ‘Criminal cases in the Crown Court’ section of this 
bulletin. The statistics are badged as "experimental statistics" and do not display 
the National Statistics logo, as data are still being evaluated and remain subject to 
further testing in terms of their reliability and ability to meet customer needs. 
 
First release of statistics on Crown Court trials by election type (experimental 
statistics) 
 
As part of the annual tables, the publication includes for the first time the number of 
defendants dealt with in triable-either-way trial cases at the Crown Court split by 
those who were sent on the direction of a magistrate and those where the 
defendant elected to be sent to the Crown Court. The statistics are badged as 
"experimental statistics" and do not display the National Statistics logo, as data are 
still being evaluated and remain subject to further testing in terms of their reliability 
and ability to meet customer needs. The statistics can be found in Table D1, and 
commentary included in Annex D. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
5 
 
Transparency and timeliness files 
 
Due to some LCJB, LJA and court names changing over time, some local areas 
have been adjusted to reflect the most recent name change. This enables 
consistency over quarters and easier comparison between LCJB, LJA or court 
across time. 
 
Future changes to timeliness methodology 
 
Following a consultation in early 2015, a proposal was agreed to make changes to 
the timeliness methodology within this publication, for example removing the ten 
year threshold from the validation scripts applied to published estimates. We 
previously announced our intention to implement the changes for the start of 
2016/17 reporting period. As such, the changes are planned to be implemented in 
the next publication in this series, scheduled for release on 29 September 2016 
covering the period April to June 2016.                 
 
 
 
 

 
 
6 
 
Key Findings 
This report presents statistics relating to activity in criminal cases in the magistrates’ 
courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2016 
(January to March). 
 
 The decrease in receipts and increase in disposals in magistrates’ courts in the 
latest quarter resulted in the outstanding magistrates’ court caseload dropping to 
304,300 at the end of Q1 2016, the lowest figure since Q1 2014. 
 
 Outstanding cases in the Crown Court have been gradually decreasing since Q4 
2014. Between Q4 2014 and Q1 2016 they declined by 16% to 46,500 cases. 
This decline reflects the number of disposals being greater than the number of 
receipts for the last 5 quarters.  
 
 The average time from receipt by the Crown Court to main hearing and main 
hearing to completion increased between Q3 2013 and Q2 2015, driving the 
overall increase in the number of days from first listing to completion across this 
period. More recently, there has been a decrease in the average number of days 
from receipt by the Crown Court to completion – from 199 days in Q2 2015 to 177 
days in Q1 2016. 
 
 From Q1 2011, average hearing times for not guilty plea trials slowly increased to 
14.9 hours in Q4 2013. Since then, hearing times have fluctuated between 12.5 
and 15 hours with a peak of 15.4 hours in Q1 2016. 
 
 

 
 
7 
 
Criminal Courts  
At the first quarter of 2016, there were around 240 magistrates’ courts and 
approximately 80 Crown Court locations across England and Wales.  
 
1. Criminal cases in the magistrates’ courts 
 
Figure 1 below shows the magistrates’ courts caseload for England and Wales.  
 
Figure 1: Magistrates’ courts caseload, Q2 2012 to Q1 2016 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Receipts in the magistrates’ courts (figure 1)  
 
Receipts throughout 2012 and going into Q1 2013 were stable, but fell by 4% at Q2 
2013. This was followed with a 7% rise between Q2 2013 and Q1 2014, after which 
they remained stable at around 400,000 a quarter until Q1 2015. More recently, the 
number of receipts fluctuated throughout 2015, with a decline of 4% between Q4 
2015 and Q1 2016. 
  
Disposals (figure 1)  
 
Following a dip in disposals across 2013 to 378,200 in Q4 2013, disposals have 
fluctuated but gradually increased since then, with an overall rise by 9% between Q4 
2013 and Q1 2016. There were 412,400 disposals in Q1 2016, a quarterly peak since 
2012. 
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
450,000
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Number of cases
Receipts
Disposals
Outstanding

 
 
8 
 
 
Outstanding cases (figure 1)  
 
The number of outstanding cases fell between 2012 and Q3 2013 – over a period 
when quarterly disposals were greater than receipts – down to 281,600 cases at the 
end of Q3 2013. Outstanding caseload then rose to 328,300 at the end of Q1 2015, 
followed by quarterly fluctuation up to the end of 2015. The decrease in receipts 
and increase in disposals in the latest quarter resulted in the outstanding caseload 
dropping to 304,300 at the end of Q1 2016, the lowest figure since Q1 2014. 
Annual table: effectiveness of magistrates’ courts trials by region (figure 2) 
 
In comparison to the other regions within England and Wales, London had the 
largest proportion of effective trials in 2015 (55%). It also had the lowest proportion 
of cracked trials (30%).  
 
In contrast, the North East had the lowest proportion of effective trials (40%) whilst 
Wales and the North East had the highest percentage of cracked trials (43%). 
 
The South East had the greatest percentage of ineffective trials (18%) whereas 
Wales had the lowest (7%). 
 
Figure 2: Effectiveness of magistrates' courts' trials in England and Wales by region, 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
London
Midlands
North East
North West
South East
South West
Wales
Region
Effective trials
Cracked trials
Ineffective trials

 
 
9 
 
2. Criminal cases in the Crown Court 
 
Figure 3 below shows the annual Crown Court caseload from 2000 to 2015, whilst 
figure 4 shows the quarterly Crown Court caseload from Q1 2010 to Q1 2016. 
 
 
Annual trends in the Crown Court from 2000 to 2015 (figure 3) 
 
Figure 3: Crown Court annual caseload, 2000 to 2015 
Receipts  
 
Overall, receipts rose by 36% from 2000 to a peak of 152,800 in 2010. The level 
then decreased by 13% between 2010 and 2012. This was followed by a smaller 
increase of 5% to 2013. The number of receipts then fell from 2013 to 2015, with 
the receipt level at 2015 being the lowest since 2006 at 130,000 cases. 
 
Disposals  
 
Following a similar pattern to receipts, there was an overall rise by 32% between 
2000 and 2010. Between 2010 and 2012, disposals decreased by 10%. They were 
fairly stable between 2013 and 2014, but then increased in 2015. Disposals were 
higher than receipts in 2015 for the first time since 2012. 
 
Outstanding cases 
 
Between 2000 and 2009, there was a 53% rise in outstanding cases. Following a 
decrease in outstanding cases between 2010 and 2012, cases subsequently rose 
between 2012 and 2014, but decreased again by 8% from 2014 to 2015. This 
decline reflects the number of disposals being higher than receipts over this period. 
Since 2010, there has been an overall increase of 8% in outstanding cases to 2015. 
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Number of cases
Receipts
Disposals
Cases outstanding at end of year

 
 
10 
 
 
Recent quarterly trends (figure 4) 
 
Figure 4: Crown Court caseload, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016  
Receipts 
 
Receipts in Q1 2016 were 8% lower than in Q4 2015, and 12% lower than the first 
quarter of 2015. This figure of 29,800 was the lowest of the quarterly time series 
(since 2010). 
 
Disposals 
 
Disposals at Q1 2016 were the highest since the first quarter of 2015, and had 
increased by 2% from Q4 2015.  
 
Outstanding cases  
 
Outstanding cases have been decreasing since Q4 2014. Between Q4 2014 and 
Q1 2016 they declined by 16% to 46,500 cases.  
 
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Number of cases
Receipts
Disposals
Cases outstanding at end of quarter

 
 
11 
 
Receipts by case type (figure 5) 
 
Triable-either-way and indictable only (IO) cases drive the overall trend in receipts. 
Following a decline of 32% in triable-either-way receipts between Q1 2010 and Q1 
2013, the level of receipts rose between Q1 to Q3 2013 and then remained relatively 
stable until Q2 2015. Receipts decreased through 2015 and into Q1 2016. 
 
Since the peak in IO receipts in Q2 2013, there have been an overall downward trend 
over the subsequent two years, with a 24% decline from Q2 2013 to Q1 2016. 
 
Cases committed for sentence have declined by 30% between the peak in Q3 2011 
and Q1 2016, and appeals have declined by 30% since Q1 2010. 
 
Figure 5: Crown Court receipts by case type, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016  
 
Disposals by case type (figure 6) 
 
Between Q1 2010 and Q1 2013, disposals in triable-either-way cases decreased by 
28%. They then rose from Q2 2013, resulting in triable-either-way disposals being 
higher than receipts across 2015 and into Q1 2016.  
 
The overall number of indictable only disposals was been broadly stable between 
Q1 2013 and Q1 2015, at around 8,300. They have since declined to Q3 2015 and 
risen again, up to 8,100 in Q1 2016. 
 
Committed for sentence cases and appeals have also declined, by 17% and 18% 
respectively between Q1 2010 and Q4 2015. Committed for sentence cases show a 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Number of reciepts
For trial (Triable-either-way)
For trial (Indictable Only)
Committed for sentence
Appeals against mags' decisions

 
 
12 
 
2% rise between Q4 2015 and Q1 2016, whereas appeals show an 8% decline in 
the same period.  
 
 
Figure 6: Crown Court disposals by case type, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016  
 
 
Outstanding cases by case type (figure 7) 
 
The trend in triable-either-way outstanding cases drives the trend in the overall 
number of outstanding cases. Following a 30% decrease between Q1 2010 and Q1 
2013, cases increased substantially, by 76%, between Q1 2013 and Q1 2015. This 
was followed by a declining trend thereafter, with a 20% decrease between Q1 2015 
to Q1 2016, over the period that disposals for triable-either-way cases have been 
greater than receipts. 
 
Indictable only cases also followed this pattern but to a lesser magnitude, decreasing 
by 6% between Q1 2010 and Q1 2013 and then increasing by 15% to Q1 2015. There 
was then a decrease by 12% between Q1 2015 and Q1 2016. Committed for 
sentence cases and appeals have remained relatively stable across time. 
 
 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Number of disposals
For trial (Triable-either-way)
For trial (Indictable Only)
Committed for sentence
Appeals against mags' decisions

 
 
13 
 
Figure 7: Crown Court outstanding cases by type, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016   
 
 
Receipts, disposals and outstanding cases by offence group (experimental 
statistics) (figure 8) 
 
Figure 8: Receipts, disposals and outstanding cases by offence group, Q1 2016 
 
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Number of outstanding cases
For trial (Triable-either-way)
For trial (Indictable Only)
Committed for sentence
Appeals against mags' decisions
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Number of cases
receipts
disposals
outstanding cases at end of quarter

 
 
14 
 
In Q1 2016, violence against the person had the highest volume of receipts and 
disposals, followed by miscellaneous crimes, drug offences and theft. 
 
Outstanding cases followed a different pattern. Violence against the person had the 
highest amount of cases, followed by sexual offences and miscellaneous offences. 
There may have been a greater number of sexual offence cases outstanding due to 
the length of time these cases take to complete in comparison to other offence 
groups. 
 
Annual tables: Crown Court caseload by region (figures 9, 10 & 11) 
 
Several of the annual tables cover regional breakdowns of Crown Court caseload in 
England and Wales for 2015.  
 
In 2015, London had the highest volume of receipts, disposals and outstanding 
cases, due to the population of the region. Triable-either-way and indictable trials 
accounted for the highest proportion of caseload when compared to the other 
regions (71% receipts, 72% disposals, 87% outstanding). 
 
Wales had the lowest volume of receipts, disposals and outstanding cases, and the 
lowest proportion of trial outstanding cases of the regions, alongside the South 
West (82%). The South West had the lowest proportion of trial receipts (63%), and 
also the lowest proportion of disposals, equal to the North East (66%). 
 
Figure 9: Proportion of receipts by region, 2015 
 
 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
London
Midlands
North East
North West
South East
South West
Wales
Region
TEW and IO
Committed for sentence
Appeals

 
 
15 
 
Figure 10: Proportion of disposals by region, 2015 
 
 
Figure 11: Proportion of outstanding cases by region, 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
London
Midlands
North East
North West
South East
South West
Wales
Region
TEW and IO
Committed for sentence
Appeals
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
London
Midlands
North East
North West
South East
South West
Wales
Region
TEW and IO
Committed for sentence
Appeals

 
 
16 
 
3. Timeliness 
 
Offence to completion in the magistrates’ courts 
 
For cases in the magistrates’ courts, the (mean) average number of days from 
offence to completion increased by 7 days between Q1 2013 and Q4 2015, a 5% 
rise. Despite remaining at 158 days in both Q3 2015 and Q4 2015, the average 
increased by a further 5 days to 163 days in Q1 2016.  
 
Crown Court criminal cases - First listing in the magistrates’ courts to 
completion in the Crown Court (figure 12) 
 
For cases completing at the Crown Court, the average number of days from first 
listing to completion increased from 152 to 204 days between Q3 2013 and Q2 2015, 
followed by a decrease to 183 days in Q1 2016.  
 
The average time from first listing at the magistrates’ court to receipt by the Crown 
Court fell from 26 days in Q1 2013 to 6 days in Q3 2015, and remained at 6 days into 
Q1 2016. 
 
The average time from receipt by the Crown Court to main hearing and main hearing 
to completion, however, increased between Q3 2013 and Q2 2015, driving the overall 
increase in the number of days from first listing to completion across the period. More 
recently, there has been a decrease in the average number of days from receipt by 
the Crown Court to completion – from 199 days in Q2 2015 to 177 days in Q1 2016. 
 
Figure 12: Average number of days (mean) from first listing in the magistrates’ courts to 
completion in the Crown Court, for Crown Court criminal cases, Q2 2010 to Q1 2016  
 
 
 
0
50
100
150
200
250
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Average number of days (mean)
First listing at MC to receipt in CC
Receipt by CC to main hearing
Main hearing to completion at CC

 
 
17 
 
Annual table: Breakdown of average number of days from offence to 
completion for criminal cases by region (figure 13) 
 
In England and Wales at 2015, the South East had the longest mean time spent from 
offence to completion at 180 days. The North East had the shortest timeliness of 154 
days, which was partially influenced by having the shortest ‘offence to charge’ stage 
of the regions (92 days). 
 
Wales had the greatest amount of time spent at ‘offence to charge’ (102 days), but 
the shortest time from ‘first listing to completion (17 days). 
 
Figure 13: Proportion of average number of days taken from offence to completion for criminal 
cases in England and Wales, 2015 
 
Average waiting times at the Crown Court (figure 14) 
 
Average waiting times for all trial cases increased between 2013 and 2015. Waiting 
times for triable-either-way cases increased by 6 weeks and indictable only cases by 
4.1 weeks between Q4 2013 and Q4 2015. For non-trial cases waiting times have 
remained fairly steady over the same period with an overall increase of 0.2 weeks for 
committed for sentence cases and 1.1 weeks for appeals.  
 
In Q1 2016 the waiting times for trial cases fell by 0.7 weeks in triable-either-way 
cases and 1.4 weeks in indictable only cases, from Q4 2015. The waiting times in 
non-trial cases increased by 0.2 weeks for cases committed for sentence and 0.4 
weeks for appeal cases. 
 
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
London
Midlands
North East North West South East South West
Wales
Mean time (days)
Region
First listing to completion
Charge or laying of information to first listing
Offence to charge or laying of information

 
 
18 
 
Figure 14: Average waiting time (weeks) at the Crown Court, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016 
 
 
  
Average hearing times at the Crown Court (figure 15) 
 
From Q1 2011, average hearing times for not guilty plea trials slowly increased to 
14.9 hours in Q4 2013. Since then, hearing times have fluctuated between 12.5 and 
15 hours with a peak of 15.4 hours in Q1 2016. 
 
Hearing times for guilty plea trials have remained fairly steady at 1.5 hours into Q1 
2016. 
 
Figure 15: Average hearing time (hours) at the Crown Court, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016 
 
 
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Average waiting time (weeks)
For trial (Triable-either-way)
For trial (Indictable Only)
Committed for sentence
Appeal
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Average hearing time (hours)
Not Guilty plea trials
Guilty plea trials

 
 
19 
 
Annex A: Enforcement of financial impositions 
 
The following section provides updated management information on the collection of 
financial impositions through Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). 
Figures on criminal courts charge are shown separately in this bulletin but following 
the announcement by the Secretary of State for Justice on 3 December this charge 
ceased to exist on 24 December 2015. Impositions made in this time period are 
reported, and payment information will continue to be recorded. 
Financial impositions are ordered by the criminal courts for payment by offenders at 
sentencing and include financial penalties such as fines, prosecutors’ costs, 
compensation orders and victim surcharge. Financial penalties are the most 
commonly used sentence and form a significant part of HMCTS’ collection and 
enforcement business. Accounting centres also enforce penalty notices for disorder 
and fixed penalty notices registered as fines for enforcement. The financial imposition 
statistics presented here do not include confiscation orders. Figure 16 shows the 
financial impositions for each quarter split by imposition type.  
 
 
Figure 16: HMCTS management information: Financial impositions by imposition type, 
England and Wales, Q2 2011 – Q1 2016 
 
 
 
 
Notes: Criminal Court Charge ceased to exist on 24 December 2015 but 
impositions still appear due to when the data are entered onto the system. 
 
 
 
 
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Financial impositions in period (£ millions)
Criminal Court Charge
Other
Costs
Fines
Victim Surcharge
Compensation

 
 
20 
 
Financial impositions and amounts paid (Table A1)  
 
Financial penalties can be imposed by the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court; 
although they are all collected and enforced by the HMCTS National Compliance and 
Enforcement Service.  
 
Trends in the amount paid have risen between 2004 and 2015 by 60% to £360 million 
at 2015. Between 2014 and 2015 the amount paid rose by 20%. This is partly due to 
a large value of criminal court charge payments following the implementation of the 
imposition in Q2 2015.  
 
The total value of financial penalties paid in Q1 2016, regardless of the age of the 
imposition, was £109 million; a 27% increase when compared with the same quarter 
in 2015 and a 14% increase since Q4 2015.  
 
Financial impositions and amounts paid by imposition type (Table A2, figure 
16)  
 
The total amount of impositions imposed increased between 2012 and 2015 by 42% 
to £573 million. Alongside the implementation of the criminal courts charge in Q2 
2015, which inflated the 2015 figure, impositions for the remaining charges have also 
shown an overall increase since 2012. 
 
The total value of impositions in Q1 2016 (£153 million) decreased by 13% when 
compared to Q4 2015. This is mainly due to the ceasing in December 2015 of the 
criminal courts charge that was introduced in April 2015. In Q1 2016, 13% (£20 
million) of all financial impositions imposed by the criminal courts were paid within the 
imposition month.  
 
Financial impositions (£ million) for victim surcharge (Table A2, figure 17) 
 
Victim surcharge is an additional surcharge which is added to the fines that are 
imposed. The receipts obtained from the collection of these monies by HMCTS are 
passed to the Justice Policy Group of the MoJ to fund victims’ services. The amount 
imposed has been increasing since its scope and amounts payable were extended 
in October 2012. 
Although increases have slowed and stabilised at this higher level in 2015, 
impositions are 4% higher at Q1 2016 than at Q4 2015. While the amount imposed 
has remained high, the proportion of impositions collected within the imposition 
month has decreased from 12% in Q1 2015 to 11% in Q1 2016.  
 
 
 
 

 
 
21 
 
Figure 17: Financial impositions (£ million) for victim surcharge, Q2 2011 to Q1 2016  
 
 
 
Financial imposition accounts opened and closed (Table A3)  
 
An account is opened when a financial penalty is ordered in court and is closed 
when the imposition against the account has been paid or the imposition ceases. 
Where a defendant has more than one financial penalty and/or account, these can 
be consolidated into one account.  
 
The number of accounts has risen since 2013. There were 1,285,000 accounts 
opened in 2015, 3% more than in 2014. 
 
There were 326,000 accounts opened in Q1 2016, an increase of 4% since Q4 
2014, but a decrease of 1% when compared to the same period in the previous 
year. Of the accounts opened in Q1 2016, 10% (32,600) were closed within the 
imposition month.  
 
Outstanding financial impositions (Table A4)  
 
The amount outstanding is irrespective of the age of the imposition or the payment 
terms, and excludes all impositions already paid as well as both legal and 
administrative cancellations. Payment terms may include arrangements for 
offenders to pay amounts owed over a period of time.  
 
In Q1 2016, the total value of financial impositions outstanding in England and 
Wales was £680 million. Although they had been decreasing from April 2011, the 
amount of outstanding financial impositions has been increasing since Q1 2014, 
and show an increase of 19% between Q1 2015 and Q1 2016. The increase in 
outstanding impositions from 2015 is partially due to owed criminal court charge 
payments. 
 
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
(r)
Q3
(r)
Q4
(r)
Q1
(r)
Q2
(r)
Q3
(r)
Q4
(r)
Q1
(p)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Within imposition month (%)
Financial impositions in period (£ millions)
Imposed (£ millions)
Paid within 1 month of imposition (%)

 
 
22 
 
Annex B: Legal representation in the Crown Court 
(experimental statistics) 
Representation by year 
 
The proportion of defendants dealt with in the Crown Court who are known to have 
had legal representation2 has decreased by 2 percentage points between 2010 and 
2015. During 2015, 93% (89,400) of defendants were represented by an advocate 
at the first hearing whilst 7% (7,000) of defendants had no advocate or unknown 
representation at first hearing. This compares to 95% and 5% respectively in 2010. 
 
The proportion of defendants represented at first hearing by an advocate only, with 
no solicitor representation, has increased since 2010. Of those in 2015, 18% 
(16,500) did not have a solicitor, compared to 2% (2,300) in 2010. 
Representation and hearings 
In 2015, 27% of represented defendants had two or less hearings, compared with 
17% of defendants whose representation was unknown or were known to be 
unrepresented. Conversely, 20% of represented defendants had six or more 
hearings, compared with 25% who had no or unknown representation. 
Annex C: Juror Statistics 
There were 361,300 juror summons issued in 2015, a 2% increase compared to the 
number of juror summons issued in 2014. In the same year around 27% of all juror 
summons were excused, an increase of 1 percentage point when compared with 
the previous year. In 2015 there were 179,200 jurors supplied to the court. 
The juror utilisation rate is the number of sitting days divided by the sum of sitting, 
non-sitting and non-attendance days. Since 2006 the juror utilisation rate has, 
overall, risen by 12 percentage points to the current rate of 71% in 2015, although it 
has been around this level since 2011. The increase may be the result of the 
introduction of a programme on the part of HMCTS to avoid placing more of a 
burden on jurors than necessary and make the best use of their time.  
 
                                            
2 Representation is classed as defendants who were known to be represented by an advocate or 
solicitor at first hearing. 

 
 
23 
 
Annex D: Election of the defendant (experimental 
statistics) 
Triable-either-way cases can be sent to the Crown Court for trial if the magistrates’ 
courts decide the matter is serious enough, or if a defendant elects to be tried by 
judge and jury. 
In Q1 2016, there were 15,200 defendants dealt with in either-way trial cases in the 
Crown Court. Of these, 14,200 defendants were sent on the direction of magistrates 
and 960 defendants had elected to be sent to the Crown Court (there were a small 
number of cases where information on election type is missing). 
Excluding those defendants where election type was unknown, direction by 
magistrates resulted in 94% of defendants dealt with, with 6% of defendants having 
elected to be sent for trial. The proportion of defendants sent on the direction of 
magistrates has increased by 2 percentage points between Q1 2014 and Q1 2016 
(from 92% to 94%), with a corresponding decrease of 2 percentage points in 
defendants electing for trial (from 8% to 6%). 
Of the 14,200 defendants sent on the direction of magistrates in Q1 2016, 9,900 
(69%) pleaded guilty and 3,700 (26%) pleaded not guilty1. Of the 960 defendants 
who elected to be sent for trial, 420 pleaded guilty (44%) and 470 (49%) pleaded 
not guilty. 
1 Note not all defendants have a plea recorded – for example, if a case is 
discontinued. 
 
 
 

 
 
24 
 
Annex E: List of Accompanying Tables and CSV  
Accompanying this publication are the following tables: 
Table M1 
Receipts, disposals and outstanding criminal cases in the magistrates' 
courts in England and Wales, annually 2012 - 2015, quarterly Q2 2012 – Q1 
2016 
Table M2 
Effectiveness of magistrates' courts' trials in England and Wales, annually 
2003 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table M3 
Key reasons for ineffective magistrates' courts' trials in England and Wales, 
annually 2006 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table M4 
Key reasons for cracked magistrates' courts' trials in England and Wales, 
annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table AM1 
Annual table: Effectiveness of magistrates' courts' trials in England and 
Wales by region, 2015 
Table C1 
Receipts, disposals and outstanding cases in the Crown Court in England 
and Wales, annually 2000 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C1a  
Receipts by offence group in the Crown Court in England and Wales, annual 
2014 – 2015, quarterly Q1 2014 – Q1 2016 
Table C1b  
Disposals by offence group in the Crown Court in England and Wales, 
annual 2014 – 2015, quarterly Q1 2014 – Q1 2016 
Table C1c 
Outstanding cases by offence group in the Crown Court in England and 
Wales, annual 2014 – 2015, quarterly Q1 2014 – Q1 2016 
Table C2 
Effectiveness of Crown Court trials in England and Wales, annually 2007 - 
2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C3 
Key reasons for ineffective Crown Court trials in England and Wales, 
annually 2007 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C4 
Key reasons for cracked Crown Court trials in England and Wales, annually 
2007 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C5 
Defendants dealt with in trial cases in the Crown Court by plea in England 
and Wales, annually 2001 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C6 
Defendants dealt with in trial cases by stage at which guilty plea was 
entered and accepted in the Crown Court, by receipt type, England and 
Wales, annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C7 
Defendants dealt with in trial cases where a guilty plea was entered before a 
trial, during trial or at a cracked trial, and accepted in the Crown Court, by 
receipt type, England and Wales, annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – 
Q1 2016 

 
 
25 
 
Table C8 
Average waiting times in the Crown Court in England and Wales, annually 
2000 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C9 
Average waiting times (weeks) in the Crown Court for defendants dealt with 
in trial cases, by plea and remand type, England and Wales, annually 2007 - 
2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C10 
Average hearing and waiting times for trial cases in the Crown Court by plea 
in England and Wales, annually 2000 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C11 
Average hearing times (hours) in the Crown Court for cases disposed of, by 
case type and plea, England and Wales, annually 2007 - 2015, quarterly Q1 
2010 – Q1 2016 
Table C12 
Appeals (against decisions of magistrates' courts) dealt with in the Crown 
Court, by appeal type and result, England and Wales, annually 2007 - 2015, 
quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table AC1 
Annual table: Receipts, disposals and outstanding cases in the Crown Court 
by region, 2015 
Table AC2  
Annual table: Cases disposed of in the Crown Court by case type and 
number of defendants involved, 2007- 2015 
Table AC3 
Annual table: Cases dealt with in the Crown Court by type of judge and 
region, 2015 
Table AC4  
Annual table: Cases disposed of and proportion heard by High Court judges 
in the Crown Court, by class and region, 2015 
Table AC5 
Annual table: Effectiveness of Crown Court trials by region, 2015 
Table AC6 
Annual table: Defendants dealt with in trial cases in the Crown Court 
showing result according to plea, 2007- 2015 
Table AC7 
Annual table: Defendants acquitted in trial cases in the Crown Court after a 
not guilty plea, by manner of acquittal, 2007-2015 
Table AC8  
Annual table: Defendants convicted after a not guilty plea in trial cases in the 
Crown Court, by number of jurors dissenting to the verdict, 2007-2015 
Table AC9 
Annual table: Summary statistics on hearing times, waiting times, plea rates 
and juror utilisation in the Crown Court, by region, 2007-2015 
Table T1 
Average number of days from offence to completion, percentage of 
proceedings completed at first listing and average number of hearings for 
criminal cases at the magistrates' courts by initial plea, England and Wales, 
annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q2 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table T2 
Average number of days taken from offence to completion for all criminal 
cases at the magistrates' courts in England and Wales, annually 2010 - 
2015, quarterly Q2 2010 – Q1 2016 

 
 
26 
 
Table T3 
Average number of days taken from offence to completion for all summary 
cases at the magistrates' courts in England and Wales, annually 2010 - 
2015, quarterly Q2 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table T4 
Average number of days taken from offence to completion for Crown Court 
criminal cases in England and Wales, annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q2 
2010 – Q1 2016 
Table T5 
Average number of days taken from offence to completion for criminal cases 
in England and Wales, annually 2010 - 2015, quarterly Q2 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table T6 
Average number of days taken from offence to completion for all criminal 
cases by offence group, in England and Wales, Q1 2015 and Q1 2016 
Table AT1 
Annual table: Average number of days taken from offence to completion for 
criminal cases by region, 2015 
Table A1 
Enforcement of financial penalties in the magistrates' courts, England and 
Wales, annually 2004 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2010 – Q1 2016 
Table A2 
HMCTS management information: Financial impositions and amounts paid 
by imposition type, England and Wales, annual 2011 - 2015, quarterly Q2 
2011 – Q1 2016 
Table A3 
HMCTS management information: Number of financial imposition accounts 
opened and closed, annually 2011 - 2015, quarterly Q2 2011 – Q1 2016 
Table A4 
HMCTS management information: Total amount of financial impositions 
outstanding, annually 2011 - 2015, quarterly Q2 2011 – Q1 2016 
Table B1 
Advocate and solicitor representation, at first hearing, of defendants dealt 
with in the Crown Court, England and Wales, annually 2010 – 2015 
Table B2 
Representation status, at first hearing, of defendants dealt with in the Crown 
Court, England and Wales, annually 2010 – 2015 
Table B3 
Number of hearings in the Crown Court, by representation status at first 
hearing, England and Wales, annually 2010 – 2015 
Table J1 
Summary jury summonsing figures in the Crown Court, 2007 - 2015 
Table J2 
Juror sitting days and juror utilisation in the Crown Court, England and 
Wales, 2006 – 2015 
Table D1 
Number of defendants dealt with in either-way-trial cases in the Crown Court 
by plea and election type, England and Wales, Q1 2010 to Q1 2016 
 
There are also a number of csv files that support this publication, these include: 
 National and court level workload activity and case progression data 
 National and court level timeliness data 
 
 

 
 
27 
 
Annex F: Explanatory notes  
The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National 
Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and 
signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Designation can 
be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics: 
 meet identified user needs; 
 are well explained and readily accessible; 
 are produced according to sound methods, and 
 are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.  
Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics, it is a statutory 
requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed. 
The statistics in this bulletin relate to cases in the magistrates’ courts and the Crown 
Court in England and Wales. Calendar year statistics are also provided. 
Breakdowns of many of the summary figures presented in this bulletin, such as split 
by court or by HMCTS area, are available in the Comma Separated Value (CSV) files 
that accompany this publication. 
 
Revisions 
 
The statistics in the latest quarter are provisional, and are therefore liable to revision 
to take account of any late amendments to the administrative databases from which 
these statistics are sourced. The standard process for revising the published statistics 
to account for these late amendments is as follows: 
 
 An initial revision to the statistics for the latest quarter may be made when the 
next edition of this bulletin is published. Further revisions may be made when 
the figures are reconciled at the end of the year. If revisions are needed in the 
subsequent year this will be clearly annotated in the tables. 
For more information please see the Guide to criminal court statistics. 
 
Symbols and conventions 
 
The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin: 
..    
= Not applicable 
- 
= Not available 
0   
= Nil 
(r) 
= Revised data 
(p) 
= Provisional data 

 
 
28 
 
Previous editions 
 
Previous editions of Court Statistics Quarterly can be found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/court-statistics-quarterly#court-statistics-
quarterly-reports 
 
Future publication 
 
The next publication of Criminal court statistics quarterly is scheduled to be published 
on 29 September 2016, covering the period April to June 2016.  
 
Contacts 
 
Press enquiries on the contents of this bulletin should be directed to the Ministry of 
Justice or Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) press offices: 
 
Ministry of Justice News Desk  
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics 
Analytical Services division of the Ministry of Justice: 
 
David Jagger 
Ministry of Justice 
102 Petty France 
London 
SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
General enquiries about the statistics work of the Ministry of Justice can be emailed 
to xxx@xxx.xx 
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from 
www.statistics.gov.uk 
Feedback 
The structure and content of this report is continually being reviewed to reflect user 
requirements. If you have any feedback about these changes, or the report more 
generally, please contact the production team through the Justice Statistics Analytical 
Services division of the Ministry of Justice: 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
Alternative formats are available on request from 
xxx@xxx.xx