The number of both rape and murder cases coming before the Central Criminal Court fell last year, and the delays in cases coming to trial there has now fallen from 18 to 12 months, according to the latest figures from the court, which have been seen by The Irish Times.
These will form part of the annual report of the Courts Service for 2003, to be published later this year. The figures confirm the trend towards a fall in serious crime shown in the Garda crime statistics for 2003.
There were 52 rape and sexual assault cases before this court last year, compared with 82 the previous year. This represents a dramatic fall from the high point of 130 a year for 1998 and 1999, and is the lowest number since 1996, when there were 48 such cases. The fall is likely to represent a fall-off in the number of old cases being reported, investigated and prosecuted.
However, there is no explanation for the fall in the number of murders being dealt with by the Central Criminal Court, which, at 91, was also the lowest for eight years. The number of murder cases received in 1996 was 73, and the figures rose over the subsequent years to high points of 159, 163 and 156 successively over the years 1998 to 2000.
The cases received are rarely processed in the same year, so the number of cases concluded last year contained a number received in previous years, and came to 159. The figures belie the perception that violent crime and murder, including gang-related crime, is rising inexorably.
The fall in the number of cases received will come as a relief to the beleaguered staff of the Central Criminal Court, presided over by Mr Justice Carney, who have been running to stand still in their efforts to reduce delays over the past number of years. At one stage the delay between cases being listed and coming to trial ran to 20 months, with consequent increased distress for victims and victims' relatives.
Additional judges were asked to sit in the Central Criminal Court on a temporary basis to hear cases, and a number of cases originating in the Limerick area were heard there, while the Central Criminal Court also sat in Dublin in an attempt to reduce the backlog.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice will bring proposals to Cabinet later this year on reorganising the criminal justice system, based on a report on the criminal courts by a committee chaired by a Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Fennelly. Among the proposals from the Fennelly committee was one to allow Circuit Courts to hear certain rape cases.