Donna Longcroft

South East London Girl! Previously - Actress/Children’s entertainer/Barmaid/Bookie. Now- Barrister, Mother. Middle Temple Scholar. all views are my own.

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw @DrystoneCrime Donna Longcroft

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw Donna Longcroft

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw @The36Group Donna Longcroft - 2DRJ Barristers

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

Lovely to speak to @jade_bogart of @BBCr4today about the state of things at the Criminal Bar!

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

“You said you were going to have to be running between two court rooms, how did that come about” asks @BBCr4today @jade_bogart of
RASSO criminal barrister Stacey Lee Holland of @2drjb “unfortunately it’s due to a lack of [criminal] barristers and there aren’t enough of us to cover the amount of work that’s coming in” listen to @DonnaLongcroft of @2drjb and Gregory Wedge of @187FleetStreet
Maidstone Crown Court a day in the life from 6am to court opening at 8am for criminal barristers to prepare dozens of cases many that have just arrived that morning to be prosecuted and defended that morning from 10am when jurors arrive. One trial date being offered is for 2026 for a 2020 alleged assault of an emergency worker.

The impact on defendants and complainants and victims of crime, and to have trials snatched a wave on the day that they were supposed to start removes “the light at the end of the tunnel”.

A murder trial is concluding, jurors retire to consider a rape and serious sexual assault trial, and an array of other cases with trial and sentencing dates set ranging from this year to 2025 and 2026 for offences ranging from assault of emergency worker, to downloading indecent images, to alleged theft and deception involving a woman victim of 85 with dementia and a defendant with over 25 previous convictions. He is on bail. The criminal barrister tasked with advocating prosecution for @CPSUK is seeing the case for the first time as he appears before the judge at 230pm - there had been a call out on tannoy to barristers’ robing room at 9am asking if any criminal barrister was free to take some prosecution instructions for hearings booked finally for today. But there was no one in the country left to cover them. No one was free. The Criminal barrister who took that case at 130pm did so as his hearing on a “backer” was able to be heard if he appeared on that earlier hearing where there was no prosecution counsel found.
Maidstone Crown Court judges are working round the clock with @TheCriminalBar to handle trials amid a case backlog of which by September 2023 had more than tripled in 5 years from 518 at end June 2018 to 1680 by September 2023, up 224%, while the National rate of increase was 100% over the same period. Maidstone doesn’t have sufficient judges so they all work overtime helped by recorders - part time judges drawn from @TheCriminalBar, and somehow manage to keep justice on track. They are exhausted.
But it doesn’t help when defendants are brought to court late - because prisons are overcrowded.

Facts
CBA analysis of official data shows as at 31/12/2023 across England and Wales
A 23 year high crown court case backlog
67,533
🆙105% from record low at 31/12/2018
32,936
And
🆙 8% on in 12 months on 31/12/2022 62,628
🆙 1% in 3 months from 30/9/2023
66,578
🆙 4% in 6 months from 30/6/2023
64,810
🆙 8.6% in 9 months on 31/3/2023 62,207

Includes

Rape case backlog also at record high 
At 31/12/23 up nearly 5 fold in 5 years
2,786

🆙up 385% (2,211 more) in 5 years from 31/12/2018:
575
(568 on 31/12/2019 (record low)
And
🆙36% in 1 year from 31/12/2022
🆙7% in 3 months 30/9/2023
2,604
🆙17% in 3 months on 30 June 2023 of
2,389

Rape backlog part of a record sexual offences backlog up over three fold in 5 years
on 31 December 2023 of 
10,141

🆙up 237% (7,136 more) in 5 yeass from 31/12/203
3,005
And
🆙 21% in 12 months on 31/12/2022 of
8,353
🆙 3.5% in 3 months on 30/9/2023
9,794
8.6% in 3 months on 30 June 2023 of
9,335

https://t.co/JA4ZIMAeLC

[The CBA @TheCriminalBar]

“You said you were going to have to be running between two court rooms, how did that come about” asks @BBCr4today @jade_bogart of
RASSO criminal barrister Stacey Lee Holland of @2drjb “unfortunately it’s due to a lack of [criminal] barristers and there aren’t enough of us to cover the amount of work that’s coming in” listen to @DonnaLongcroft of @2drjb and Gregory Wedge of @187FleetStreet
Maidstone Crown Court a day in the life from 6am to court opening at 8am for criminal barristers to prepare dozens of cases many that have just arrived that morning to be prosecuted and defended that morning from 10am when jurors arrive. One trial date being offered is for 2026 for a 2020 alleged assault of an emergency worker.

The impact on defendants and complainants and victims of crime, and to have trials snatched a wave on the day that they were supposed to start removes “the light at the end of the tunnel”.

A murder trial is concluding, jurors retire to consider a rape and serious sexual assault trial, and an array of other cases with trial and sentencing dates set ranging from this year to 2025 and 2026 for offences ranging from assault of emergency worker, to downloading indecent images, to alleged theft and deception involving a woman victim of 85 with dementia and a defendant with over 25 previous convictions. He is on bail. The criminal barrister tasked with advocating prosecution for @CPSUK is seeing the case for the first time as he appears before the judge at 230pm - there had been a call out on tannoy to barristers’ robing room at 9am asking if any criminal barrister was free to take some prosecution instructions for hearings booked finally for today. But there was no one in the country left to cover them. No one was free. The Criminal barrister who took that case at 130pm did so as his hearing on a “backer” was able to be heard if he appeared on that earlier hearing where there was no prosecution counsel found.
Maidstone Crown Court judges are working round the clock with @TheCriminalBar to handle trials amid a case backlog of which by September 2023 had more than tripled in 5 years from 518 at end June 2018 to 1680 by September 2023, up 224%, while the National rate of increase was 100% over the same period. Maidstone doesn’t have sufficient judges so they all work overtime helped by recorders - part time judges drawn from @TheCriminalBar, and somehow manage to keep justice on track. They are exhausted.
But it doesn’t help when defendants are brought to court late - because prisons are overcrowded.

Facts
CBA analysis of official data shows as at 31/12/2023 across England and Wales
A 23 year high crown court case backlog
67,533
🆙105% from record low at 31/12/2018
32,936
And
🆙 8% on in 12 months on 31/12/2022 62,628
🆙 1% in 3 months from 30/9/2023
66,578
🆙 4% in 6 months from 30/6/2023
64,810
🆙 8.6% in 9 months on 31/3/2023 62,207

Includes

Rape case backlog also at record high 
At 31/12/23 up nearly 5 fold in 5 years
2,786

🆙up 385% (2,211 more) in 5 years from 31/12/2018:
575
(568 on 31/12/2019 (record low)
And
🆙36% in 1 year from 31/12/2022
🆙7% in 3 months 30/9/2023
2,604
🆙17% in 3 months on 30 June 2023 of
2,389

Rape backlog part of a record sexual offences backlog up over three fold in 5 years
on 31 December 2023 of 
10,141

🆙up 237% (7,136 more) in 5 yeass from 31/12/203
3,005
And
🆙 21% in 12 months on 31/12/2022 of
8,353
🆙 3.5% in 3 months on 30/9/2023
9,794
8.6% in 3 months on 30 June 2023 of
9,335

https://t.co/JA4ZIMAeLC

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@FieldingAtLaw I feel your pain Emma!!

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw @The36Group Donna Longcroft

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw @25BedfordRow Donna Longcroft

what a lovely prize

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@WomenInCrimLaw @5SAHLaw Donna Longcroft!

Merry Xmas!

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

Thought of the day….

*I wonder if there are other jobs in which being shouted at, spoken to in a condescending bark and/or being treated differently to male counter parts is just accepted as “the way things are.”
*sigh*

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@kriekstina It should add…I still don’t feel that enough of a difference can be made via this tool and sadly don’t hold my breath for change but being able to log the behaviour is better than nothing.

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@kriekstina This resonates so strongly with me!! someone made me aware of Talk To Spot via the bar council last week and I was amazed that I hadn’t known about it before!

[Kate Riekstina @kriekstina]

Judges. If you keep screaming at barristers. Bullying them. Humiliating them. I can ASSURE you there will be a time where you have NOONE left. You have been given great authority by the state. Don’t abuse it please.

[Samuel March @Sam_Oscar_March]

Shellshocked seasoned barrister in the robing room. "I've just come back from a year off and it's really hit me. Never forget how difficult this job is. You get so many [expletive] papers, you get so little time, and then go and watch people's lives get utterly destroyed."

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

Fantastic Evening!

[2DRJ @2drjb]

Our new website is now live! https://t.co/SNjRQRuoxy We had a great time on Friday giving out these goodie bags and celebrating with some of our solicitors, colleagues and friends. Thank you to those who made it and continue to support chambers.

[2DRJ @2drjb]

Our new website is now live! https://t.co/SNjRQRuoxy We had a great time on Friday giving out these goodie bags and celebrating with some of our solicitors, colleagues and friends. Thank you to those who made it and continue to support chambers.

[2DRJ @2drjb]

Congratulations to Kristina Hopper, who is now an accredited arbitrator in children law matters https://t.co/pm2yz2NoGV

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@FieldingAtLaw and don’t even talk to me about your drinking vessels…..

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@legallylaura79 I remember it so well! torture!

[Donna Longcroft @DonnaLongcroft]

@ssashalowe I’m happy to Sasha!