Police commissioner Paddy Tipping presses for a Nightingale court in East Midlands to tackle backlog of cases

Nottinghamshire has the second highest number of outstanding Crown Court hearings in the region, behind only Birmingham. There were 944 unheard cases in the county at the end of March. The impact of the backlog is dire and victims and witnesses now face the very real possibility of a three to four year wait before their case is concluded unless urgent action is taken.

This month, Nottingham welcomed the Shadow Justice Secretary David Lammy who visited the Crown Court to meet the presiding judge and understand the depth of the local crisis. So far, the East Midlands and Nottinghamshire, specifically, have been excluded in the government’s plans for ten new temporary “Nightingale courts” to tackle the coronavirus backlog.

The case for a Nightingale court in the East Midlands is strong and partners are already working out detailed plans on how to manage the overload. They need direct intervention from the government to support their efforts as there is simply not enough funding locally to deliver what is needed.

Intolerable delays to justice add to the suffering and pressure already consuming victims. This backlog represents the biggest threat to justice and our communities post-Covid. Already, in other parts of the country, increasing numbers of victims and witnesses are withdrawing their support for cases in frustration at the stop start process and fragmented system.

We were very grateful for Mr Lammy’s support and his interest in the issues locally. He agreed that Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands were often overlooked by politicians at the expense of London and has pledged to pursue the notion of a Nightingale court for the East Midlands.

Without increased capacity to hear the backlog, out of court measures are likely to soar and the system will be increasingly forced to prioritise. This is not the justice victims deserve and will undermine the work we as Commissioners are doing to build trust and faith in the system.