The impact of remote hearings on the Crown Court

This document describes an evaluation of the impact of remote hearings on the Crown Court's efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on the period from January 2020 to March 2022. The evaluation used Propensity Score Matching to analyze data from the XHIBIT database, comparing remote hearings to in-person hearings. It found that remote hearings were slightly shorter but did not significantly affect the overall case duration or the number of hearings required. There was a small increase in guilty pleas following remote hearings, but no significant impact on other trial outcomes. Despite some limitations, such as potential selection bias, the study concludes that remote hearings have a similar impact on the justice system as in-person hearings. The evaluation also references surveys and reports, indicating mixed opinions among court users on the benefits of remote hearings, and finds no evidence that remote hearings significantly alter the efficiency or effectiveness of the Crown Court system. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

Lead department
Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
Evaluation stage
A complete evaluation report
Other departments
No other departments listed
Evaluation types
Impact evaluation
Impact methods
Quasi-experimental method
Quasi-experimental methods
Matching
Grant information
This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
Government Major Project information
This intervention is not a major project
Policies
No policies provided

Event Dates

Event Name
Publication of final results
Event date
March 2023

Evaluation Costs

Cost
Not provided

Evaluation sharing

Link(s) to published report(s)
Yes
Links to evaluation plans
No link provided
Links to published evaluations (DEBUGGING)
No final report link found.
Findings
Not provided
Permission to share confirmed
Yes