Warrants for defendants skipping court in England and Wales up 50% since 2020
Almost 60,000 warrants were issued last year for defendants who skipped court in England and Wales, with more than 30,000 still outstanding.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Channel 4 Dispatches data points to a growing criminal justice strain in England and Wales: rising failure-to-appear warrants, a large backlog, and defendants who may be avoiding trial for years. The article links the problem to court delays, funding pressures, and wider system breakdowns.
A lot more people in England and Wales are not showing up for court when they are supposed to. That means judges have to issue warrants so police can try to find them.
Think of it like school attendance, but for very serious trouble. If too many people skip class, the lesson gets delayed and the teacher cannot finish the work. In court, delays can make it easier for people to disappear.
The story says this is happening while the court system is already crowded and slow. That makes it harder for victims, families, and police to get answers, especially in serious cases.
Analysis
What the investigation found
Channel 4’s Dispatches obtained figures showing nearly 60,000 arrest warrants were issued last year in England and Wales for defendants who failed to appear in court, up almost 50% from 2020. The reporting also says more than 30,000 failure-to-appear warrants are still outstanding, which means tens of thousands of people may be unaccounted for after being charged.
How serious it is
The article says more than 7,000 of those outstanding warrants were issued before 2020, so some people have allegedly been on the run for six years or more. More than a quarter relate to category A offences, the most serious and complex cases, including rape, armed robbery and manslaughter. In crown courts alone, failure-to-appear warrants rose by 134% from 6,808 in 2020 to 15,963 in 2024.
Why the system is under pressure
Former justice secretary Alex Chalk KC says the system is in a “horror show,” linking the breakdown to the Covid pandemic, the barristers’ strike, underfunding, and prison-space shortages. He argues delay gives defendants more chance to disappear. The article also cites a crown court backlog of more than 80,000 cases at the end of last year, with some trials not expected until 2029 or 2030. The Ministry of Justice says bail conditions are for the courts and that it is working on changes to tackle the backlog. The CPS says it opposes bail when there are substantial grounds to think someone will not attend court.
Key points
- Almost 60,000 arrest warrants were issued last year for people who skipped court in England and Wales.
- More than 30,000 failure-to-appear warrants are still outstanding, some from before 2020.
- The article says crown court failure-to-appear warrants rose 134% from 2020 to 2024.
- More than a quarter of outstanding warrants relate to the most serious category A offences.
- Officials cite court delays, underfunding, the pandemic, a barristers' strike, and prison-space shortages as part of the wider crisis.
