Put money into the court system says branch deputy

23 February 2024

For the court system to catch up there needs to be more funding, argues the deputy chair of West Midlands Police Federation Jase Dooley.

His comments come after it was recently reported that some court cases were being delayed by up to five years due to a backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jase has warned that if proper funding is not given to the court system, ‘things will only ever get worse’.

“When the pandemic struck, lockdown restrictions led to fewer courts being open and a lot of the cases were done remotely via video link. This worked then, because naturally, there were less people on the streets, so there were fewer crimes from taking place,” explained Jase.

“However, when the pandemic stopped, we saw a major increase in crime and crown courts have never caught up.”

Despite lockdown ending, Jase said that some courtrooms have remained closed, which ‘isn’t helping the issue’.

“Ideally, what we need is more time, more space, more judges, more barristers and ultimately, more money put into the system,” he continued.

“The thing is, the majority of cases that are heard in crown court are complex - they’re never just a one-day trial. So, what’s happening is, the court is backlogged, and the cases are taking a long time - and then what happens is, the officers get another case to deal with. So it’s case after case after case, and the system can’t handle it.”

The delay is having a ‘huge impact’ on officers explains Jase, who has revealed that a case he was the lead detective on, started back in 2018 and is still ongoing.

“I know of some detectives and officers who are working on 20-30 cases at a time,” he said, adding: “The backlog is undoubtedly having a massive impact on the officers.

“Remember, just because one case is delayed, doesn’t mean another case doesn’t start. It’s a vicious circle. It’s horrible to watch - cops putting their life and soul into each case, and having to oversee so many cases ends up just weighing them down.”

“In fact, I’ve actually heard from officers who have resigned and they will still be called to give evidence despite them no longer working in the Force - the whole system is relentless.”

As well as officers, the backlog is taking its toll on victims too.

Jase said: “My heart goes out to the victims, especially those involved in sexual offence cases.

“And unfortunately, as a case drags on, the victims begin to lose faith in the system which means they’re less likely to give evidence because they don’t want to re-live the experience.

“I feel like a case delayed is a case denied. We’re really letting the victims down.”