England's Crown Courts Face Record Backlog

0:00I'm Cory with the story. That's your Europe news today update, AI-powered and always on. Crown courts in England and Wales are swamped with a record backlog of more than 80,000 cases. Ministry of Justice figures show 80,203 cases waiting at the end of last year, and 8% jumped from 74, 106 the year before. This marks more than double the pre-pandemic level of 38,108 cases back in 2019. The data came out on Thursday highlighting how delays have piled up steadily. The pandemic triggered massive disruptions, slowing trials and hearings across the board. Now, victims, witnesses and those accused are facing longer weights, straining the whole justice system. To fight back, the government is pushing court reforms that include scaling down jury trials. Officials hope this will help chip away at the mounting caseload. With these changes in motion, the pressure is on to restore balance and speed of justice for everyone involved.