Case Processing Time for Criminal Cases Dealt with at Courts in Northern Ireland 2024/25 published.
Date published:
The Department of Justice has published the official statistics publication Case Processing Time for Criminal Cases Dealt with at Courts in Northern Ireland 2024/25.
The bulletin presents data on the average time it took to process criminal cases in Northern Ireland’s Crown and magistrates courts between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and refers to the time from when the offence was first reported to or detected by the police.
Summary
Overall, in all courts in 2024-25, the time taken for cases to be completed has shown an improvement from that recorded in the last few years. This being the second year running that processing times have shown a decrease. The trend, however, is not consistent across all court types. Both adult and youth magistrates’ courts saw processing times decrease when compared to the previous year. For Crown Court, an improvement was noted for charge but not summons cases.
All Courts
- In 2024/25, the average time taken to complete a case across all courts was 189 days, a day less than the previous year (190 days) and faster than during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020/21 (193 days).
Crown Court cases
- In 2024/25, charge cases at Crown Court took an average of 542 days to complete, 1.6% faster than the previous year (551 days).
- Summons cases at Crown Court took an average of 1,211 days to complete, 1.0% longer than in 2023/24 (1,199 days).
Adult Magistrates’ Courts
- In 2024/25, charge cases at adult magistrates’ courts, took an average of 92 days to complete, 3.2% faster than the previous year (95 days).
- Summons cases at adult magistrates’ courts took an average of 223 days, 3.0% faster than in 2023/24 (230 days).
Youth Magistrates’ Courts
- In 2024/25, the average time taken for a charge case to complete at youth magistrates’ courts was 158 days, 6.5% faster than in 2023/24 (169 days).
- For summons cases at youth magistrates’ courts, the average time was 290 days, a day faster than in 2023/24 (291 days).
Processing times by Offence Category
- In 2024/25, it took an average of 152 days to complete cases involving motoring offences. The comparative figure for sexual offences was 630 days.
Notes to editors:
1.This bulletin shows how long criminal cases took to be processed in Northern Ireland’s Crown and magistrates’ courts between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. It aims to show the impact of changes in laws and court procedures on case processing times. The report measures the time from when the offence was reported or detected by the PSNI to when the case was completed in court. It also breaks down the data by case type (charge or summons) and by court type (Crown Court, adult magistrates’ court, or youth magistrates’ court). Results from 2024/25 are compared with the previous four years.
2.The data in this bulletin come from the Causeway Data Sharing System, which connects information across Northern Ireland’s criminal justice organisations.
3.The figures in this bulletin refer to court cases completed in the specified year, where the case was prosecuted by the Public Prosecution Service on behalf of PSNI, Harbour Police, Airport Constabulary or the National Crime Agency. Cases that were resolved outside of court or that didn’t go through the full court process are not included, as they don’t go through the standard stages of the court system and can’t be directly compared to full court cases. Similarly, cases involving breaches of previous court orders are excluded, since they relate to earlier offences and don’t proceed through the various stages of the criminal justice process in the same way.
4.Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and are produced free from any political interference. They are also subject to restrictions in terms of pre-release access. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing or via the OSR website.
5.The bulletin will be available in PDF format from either the DoJ web-site or Analytical Services Group, Financial Services Division, Block C, Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SG or email
6.Department of Justice media enquiries should be directed to the Department of Justice Press Office email .
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