Met chief Sir Mark Rowley says London trials are already being listed for 2030

Close to 500 criminal cases in London already have trial dates set for 2030, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said. He warned that the justice system is under the greatest strain he has seen.

Sir Mark, who has been a police officer for 40 years, blamed years of tight funding and the backlog of cases that built up during the Covid pandemic.

Victims waiting years for London trials

“In London we’ve got nearly 500 cases listed for trial in 2030,” he said. The commissioner said the delays hit some victims hardest. People in stalking and harassment cases, and in domestic abuse and rape cases, could be left waiting years for justice, he said, calling the wait “incredibly difficult for victims”.

He also said 36 people awaiting trial on firearms charges in the capital were out on bail. In the past, he said, bail instead of remand for a gun charge would have been kept for only the most exceptional case. “That’s becoming too frequent and those risks are then walking around communities.”

Charges rise as the Met shrinks

The Met now charges about 7,500 defendants a month, compared with roughly 4,000 two years ago, even though the force has become smaller, Sir Mark said.

Overcrowded jails and the government’s scheme to let some prisoners out early were piling extra work on to the police, he said. Officers are now often left tracking the risk posed by people living locally who, until recently, would have been behind bars. After 700 releases earlier in the month, more prisoners were due out under the scheme the following day.

Sir Mark said the government took over prisons that were already full and was forced to take urgent action. He stressed that he was not criticising that decision, but said officers on the front line were feeling its effects.

The Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors working in busy remand courts would get more support and further training. Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, said bail and remand decisions would also face closer scrutiny, with the focus on repeat offenders and on cases where victims face serious risk. The CPS is also working with police to share information better when bail is decided.

The Ministry of Justice said ministers had moved within weeks of taking office to keep more of the most serious offenders locked up, and that new prison places were being built.