Fewer cases reaching Norfolk's crown courts, government data reveals
Norfolk is part of a national trend which is seeing fewer crimes prosecuted at its crown courts, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
Legal experts say that police don’t have enough resources to complete investigations to the standard required by the Crown Prosecution Service, leading to cases being shelved.
The latest data shows 228 cases reached the crown court in Norfolk, between April and June, down from 294 over the same period in 2014.
Magistrates’ courts can only hand out a maximum sentence of six months in prison, so crimes which require longer jail terms go to trial at crown court.
Although most crown court cases in Norfolk are heard in Norwich, some still take place at the court in Lynn.
The most common type of offence dealt with in the county was drug possession, accounting for 38 per cent of all crown court appearances.
The CPS carried out 13 prosecutions for robbery over the time period, six per cent of the total cases.
Ian Kelcey, of the Law Society, said: “The CPS are now demanding cases have to be trial-ready before they will authorise going to trial.
“The problem is police forces do not have the manpower to put together the information the CPS wants and I suspect a lot of cases have not been pursued because it is too much trouble from them.”
Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said the analysis of digital material was one factor behind the trend.
But Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation think tank, said budget cuts are behind the fall.
He said: “If you have 20,000 fewer police officers today than in 2010-11, then fewer crimes will be solved and fewer will end up in court.
“Recorded crime has been increasing, so if the number of offences being tried in court is lower that tells us the police are clearing up fewer.”
In Norfolk, sexual offence cases were prosecuted 18 times, 26 fewer than four years earlier. Although the number of sexual crimes reported to police has almost doubled since 2014 across England and Wales, sexual offence cases in court dropped by 52 per cent.
But the Home Office claims the trend was related to changes in crime recording and the number of longer, more complex investigations now being undertaken.
A spokesman said: “Police have the resources they need to carry out their vital work and we have provided a strong and comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460m in 2018-19.”
