Criminal court statistics bulletin: July to September 2017
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.

Published 14th December 2017 
Criminal court statistics quarterly, England and 
Wales, July to September 2017 
Including statistics on the use of language interpreter and translation services 
in courts and tribunals 
Main points 
Outstanding cases in 
magistrates’ courts are 
at a similar level to Q2 
2017
Despite receipts being slightly higher than disposals in 
Q3 2017, the number of outstanding cases remained 
fairly similar to the previous quarter, at 285,000 in Q3 
2017. 
Outstanding cases in 
the Crown Court have 
fallen 
 
Disposals remained higher than receipts in the quarter, 
continuing to drive the decrease in outstanding cases to 
38,700, the lowest number in the quarterly time series. 
Despite decreasing,
violence against the 
person still had the 
highest number of 
outstanding cases
 
In Q3 2017 the number of outstanding violence against 
the person cases decreased to 7,400, whilst continuing 
to have the highest volume of receipts, disposals and 
outstanding cases. 
The average number of 
days from first listing to 
completion in the 
Crown Court has
decreased
 
For cases completing in the Crown Court, the average 
number of days from first listing to completion in the 
Crown Court decreased from 174 days in Q2 2017 to 
172 days in Q3 2017. 
Total financial 
impositions have 
decreased
 
Total financial impositions have decreased by 12% in 
the latest quarter, mostly driven by the decrease in 
fines following one high imposition in Q2 2017. 
Interpreters: The 
success rate of 
completed requests 
remained stable
 
The success rate for completed service requests was 
98% in Q3 2017, the same as the previous quarter. 
The technical guide to Criminal court statistics can be found here: 
www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-guide-to-criminal-court-statistics 
For full and detailed commentary please refer to the annual publication: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2017  
We are changing how our quarterly bulletins look, and would welcome any 
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1. Criminal cases in the magistrates’ courts 
Outstanding cases in magistrates’ courts are at a similar level to Q2 2017 
 
Despite receipts being slightly higher than disposals in Q3 2017, the number of 
outstanding cases remained fairly similar to the previous quarter, at 285,000 in Q3 
2017. 
 
Figure 1: Magistrates’ courts caseload, Q2 2012 to Q3 2017 (Source: Table M1)  
 
Magistrates’ court caseload (Figure 1)  
In the latest quarter the total number of receipts increased slightly from 375,300 in Q2 2017 
to 376,900 in Q3 2017. This is a similar level of receipts to Q3 2016 (377,600). 
Disposals have decreased slightly in the latest quarter, falling by 1% to 375,600 in Q3 2017. 
Overall disposals have decreased by 3% since Q3 2016. 
Despite the number of receipts becoming slightly higher than disposals in Q3 2017 the 
number of outstanding cases have remained similar to Q2 2017. Overall the total number of 
outstanding cases has increased by around 1% since Q3 2016. 
 

 
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2. Criminal cases in the Crown Court  
Outstanding cases in Crown Court have fallen  
 
Disposals remained higher than receipts in the quarter, continuing to drive the 
decrease in outstanding cases to 38,700, the lowest number in the quarterly time 
series. 
Figure 2: Crown Court caseload, Q1 2009 to Q3 2017 (Source: Table C1)  
 
Receipts (Figure 2) 
Receipts have fallen by 3% since Q2 2017 and overall by 5% since Q3 2016. Receipts for 
triable-either-way cases have seen a reduction of 8% since Q2 2017, while receipts for 
indictable only cases have decreased by 2% in the same time period. 
Disposals (Figure 2) 
Disposals remained fairly stable at around 29,500 between Q2 2017 and Q3 2017, but have 
decreased by 5% since Q3 2016. In the latest quarter, triable-either-way disposals and 
indictable only disposals fell by 3% and 1% respectively. 
Outstanding (Figure 2) 
Outstanding cases in the Crown Court have gradually decreased since Q4 2014, mainly due 
to disposals remaining higher than receipts since Q1 2015. Overall outstanding cases have 
declined by 10% since Q3 2016, and in the latest quarter they have declined by 4% to 
38,700 cases, the lowest number in the quarterly time series.  
 
The driver of this declining trend has been triable-either-way cases, which have fallen by 5% 
in the latest quarter and 15% since Q3 2016. Indictable only cases followed a similar pattern 
but to a lesser magnitude, decreasing by 1% in the latest quarter and by 5% between Q3 
2016 and Q3 2017.  

 
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3. Receipts, disposals and outstanding cases in the Crown 
Court by offence group 
Figure 3: Outstanding cases by offence group, for trial cases, Q1 2010 - Q3 2017 
(Source: Pivot table 1) 
 
Crown Court receipts, disposals and outstanding cases by offence group (Figure 3) 
Violence against the person had the highest number of receipts, at 3,700 in Q3 2017. 
Disposals for violence against the person cases (4,000) continued to be higher than receipts 
in Q3 2017 driving the 4% decline in outstanding cases in the latest quarter. Outstanding 
cases for violence against the person have declined since Q2 2015 (10,400), and are at 
their lowest level since Q1 2013, now standing at 7,400 in Q3 2017. 
Despite sexual offences having the fifth highest number of both receipts and disposals, at 
2,000 and 2,300 respectively, they had the second largest number of outstanding cases. In 
Q3 2017 there were 5,100 outstanding sexual offence cases, a decrease of 6% from 5,400 
cases in the previous quarter. This large number of outstanding cases for sexual offences 
could be related to their longer average number of days from first listing to completion, when 
compared to other offences.  
The number of outstanding cases for sexual offences peaked in Q1 2016 at 6,600 cases 
and have been decreasing since; by the end of Q3 2017 the number of outstanding sexual 
offence cases were at the lowest level since Q3 2013. 
Violence against the person still had the highest number of outstanding cases  
 
In Q3 2017 the number of outstanding violence against the person cases decreased 
from 7,700 in Q2 2017 to 7,400 in Q3 2017, whilst continuing to have the highest 
volume of receipts, disposals and outstanding cases. 

 
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4. Timeliness 
The average number of days from first listing in the magistrates’ court to 
completion in the Crown Court has decreased 
 
For cases completing in the Crown Court the average number of days from first 
listing to completion in the Crown Court decreased from 174 days in Q2 2017 to 172 
days in Q3 2017. 
Figure 4: 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 Q3 
2017 (Source: Table T4) 
 
Crown Court criminal cases - First listing in the magistrates’ courts to completion in 
the Crown Court (Figure 4) 
The decrease in time from sending to the Crown Court to main hearing has driven the 
overall decrease in first listing to completion in the Crown Court, decreasing by 2 days from 
123 days in Q2 2017 to 121 days in Q3 2017. The average time from first listing at the 
magistrates’ court to completion at the magistrates’ court increased from 6 days in Q2 2017 
to 7 days in Q3 2017, whilst the time from main hearing to completion in the Crown court 
remained similar at 44 days in Q3 2017.  
Average hearing times for not guilty plea trials was 17.3 hours in Q3 2017 
 
Average hearing times for not guilty plea trials in the Crown Court increased from 
14.9 hours in Q2 2017 to 17.3 hours in Q3 2017, the highest level in the quarterly 
time series. Hearing times for guilty plea trials remained stable at 1.7 hours in the 
latest quarter (table C7). 

 
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Annex A: Enforcement of financial impositions 
Total financial impositions have decreased in the latest quarter 
 
Total financial impositions have decreased by 12% in Q3 2017, mostly driven by a 
decrease in fines following one high imposition in Q2 2017. 
Figure 5: HMCTS management information: Financial impositions by imposition type, 
England and Wales, Q2 2011 – Q3 2017 (Source: Table A2) 
 
 
Financial impositions and amounts paid by imposition type (Figure 5, table A2)  
Between Q2 2017 and Q3 2017 total financial impositions decreased by 12% to £161 million 
in Q3 2017. This decrease was mostly driven by a decrease in fine impositions of £20.6m, 
following one large fine of £20m imposed in Q2 2017. Overall since Q3 2016 total financial 
impositions increased by 4%, from £156m in Q3 2016. 
 
In Q3 2017, 9% (£14.5m) of all criminal court financial impositions were paid within the 
imposition month, a similar level to the collection rate of Q2 2017 (just over 9%). Since Q3 
2016 the collection rate of impositions collected within the imposition month has fallen by 2 
percentage points from 11% in Q3 2016 to 9% in the latest quarter. 
Outstanding financial impositions (Table A4)  
In Q3 2017, the total value of financial impositions outstanding in England and Wales was 
£935 m. The amount of outstanding financial impositions has been increasing since Q1 
2014, and showed an increase of £188m (25%) between Q3 2016 and Q3 2017. 

 
7 
Annex B: The use of language interpreter and translation 
services in courts and tribunals1 
Figure 6: Number of completed language service requests and overall success rate, 
Q1 2013 to Q3 2017 (Source: Table L1) 
 
Completed service requests (Table L1) 
The figures comprise data from two separate suppliers, thebigword Group Ltd for face to 
face interpretation, and Clarion UK Ltd for non-spoken languages (special services). In Q3 
2017, criminal courts made the greatest use of face-to-face language interpreter and 
translation services at 43%, whilst 34% were for tribunal cases, 16% were for civil and 
family court cases, and 6% of requests were for other cases. 
Success rate (Figure 6) 
Since Q2 2017, the success rate for standard language requests remained at 98%, whilst 
for “rare” languages it increased by 1 percentage point to 89%, and for special services it 
increased by 1 percentage point to 100%.  
                                                 
1 The statistics on the use of language interpreter and translation services in courts and tribunals are Official Statistics, except 
the statistics under the new contracts which are ‘Provisional Statistics’. 
The total number of completed service requests decreased slightly in Q3 2017 
 
A total of 37,000 completed service requests for language interpreter and translation 
services were made in Q3 2017, a 2% decrease compared to Q2 2017. 
The success rate of completed service requests remained at 98% 
 Although the overall success rate stayed the same in Q3 2017, the success rate varied 
across different service types. 

 
8 
 
The total number of complaints for completed service requests decreased in Q3 2017 
 
Whilst the number of complaints decreased from 447 in Q2 2017 to 420 in Q3 2017, the 
complaint rate has remained stable, at 1% in Q3 2017. 
Figure 7: Number of complaints and complaint rate, Q1 2013 to Q3 2017 (Source: 
Table L2) 
 
Number of complaints and complaint rate (Figure 7) 
The most common cause of complaint was ‘interpreter did not attend’ which accounted for 
25% (105) of all complaints made in Q3 2017. In the previous quarter the most frequent 
complaint had been ‘interpreter was late’, but this decreased by 8 percentage points to 23% 
(95) in Q3 2017. Correspondingly, ‘no interpreter available’ increased by 9 percentage 
points from Q2 2017, to 19% (81) in the latest quarter. 
The complaint rate for each requestor type remained fairly stable between Q2 2017 and Q3 
2017. In Q3 2017 the complaint rate was highest in tribunals at 2%, whilst both criminal 
courts and civil & family courts had complaint rates of less than 1%. 
Off contract requests (Table L3) 
‘Off contract’ requests at tribunals increased from 174 in Q2 2017 to 184 in Q3 2017, 
whereas the number of ‘Off contract’ requests made by criminal courts and civil & family 
courts remained similar to the number requested in Q2 2017.  
Tribunals accounted for 58% (184) of all completed ‘off contract’ service requests, criminal 
courts accounted for 34% (109), while civil & family courts accounted for 7% (23).
The total number of ‘off contract’ service requests increased slightly in Q3 2017 
 
The number of service requests ‘off contract’ increased from 302 requests in Q2 2017 to 
316 in Q3 2017. 

 
2 Statistics on the use of language interpreter and translation services in courts and tribunals are Official Statistics. 
9 
Annex C: Further information on criminal courts data 
The data presented in this publication are provisional. Final data for each calendar year is 
published in June each year in our Criminal Courts Statistics annual bulletin, following 
further data cleaning and the incorporation of additional cases not available in our original 
extracts of administrative data. 
Accompanying files 
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release: 
• 
Two technical guides providing background information on ‘Criminal Court Statistics’ and 
‘Statistics on the use of languages and interpreters in courts and tribunals’, including data 
collection and processing, as well as relevant revisions policies and legislation. 
• 
A set of overview tables, covering each section of this bulletin.  
• 
A set of pivot tables containing Crown Court data broken down by offence group. 
• 
3 CSV files which feature court level breakdowns of published data: 
o 
Criminal Courts listings transparency. 
o 
Criminal Courts timeliness. 
o 
Crown Court receipts, disposals and outstanding cases by offence group. 
National Statistics status2 
National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of 
trustworthiness, quality and public value. 
All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice 
for Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following 
an assessment by the Authority’s regulatory arm. The Authority considers 
whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, 
including the value they add to public decisions and debate. 
It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards 
expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are 
still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority 
promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards 
are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored. 
Contact 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
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: 
Damon Wingfield, Head of Criminal Justice System Statistics 
Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
Next update: 29 March 2018 
URL: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-July-to-
September-2017  
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Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
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