{"metric":"crown_court_trial_waiting_by_plea","title":"Crown Court median waiting time for trial by plea","topic":"justice","unit":"weeks","measure_type":"estimate","geography":"K04000001","comparison_method":"same_quarter_previous_year","latest":{"period_start":"2026-01-01","period_end":"2026-03-31","period_label":"2026 Q1","value":21.5714285714286,"status":"final","vintage":"2026-06-25"},"comparison":{"period_label":"2025 Q1","value":20,"vintage":"2026-06-25"},"source":{"publisher":"Ministry of Justice","publication":"Criminal court statistics quarterly: Crown Court waiting times","landing_url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics","sheet":"Table_C7","table":"Table C7","row":"2026 Q1","column":"Total all for trial: Median [note 21]","raw_value":"21.5714285714286","file_url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics","file_sha256":"b6823b9b68923d7039050194eb303b8fc1a1071f5f6a555585d15cf21146dd40","release_date":"2026-06-25","release_label":"January to March 2026"},"definition":"The median weeks defendants sent for trial waited before their trial started, split by how the case resolved — guilty plea, not guilty (a contested trial), dropped, or other. Contested trials wait far longer than cases that end in a guilty plea.\n","does_not_measure":"The plea entered at the start (the split is by final outcome), or waits for cases still open.\n","links":{"page":"/justice/crown-court-trial-waiting-by-plea","series":"/api/metrics/crown_court_trial_waiting_by_plea/series","vintages":"/api/metrics/crown_court_trial_waiting_by_plea/vintages"}}