Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland today published the findings of a new inspection of criminal court administration.

The watchdog’s 97-page report focuses on the administrative processes, systems and services provided by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) supporting the progression and disposal of criminal cases and Judicial decision making across Northern Ireland.

Between 2020 and 2023, 4,810 court orders required amendment and 4,563 were deleted largely due to staff error. More than 50 per cent of these errors were discovered and brought to the NICTS’s attention by external sources.

Chief inspector Jacqui Durkin said: “While these figures represented less than 0.5 per cent of the total orders issued each year, the impact of mistakes can incur additional costs, delay payments, mean someone is held in custody longer than they should be, or could compromise the effective management of risk presented by an offender to protect public safety.

“Getting this right is essential because getting it wrong can have dire consequences.”

Inspectors have recommended that the NICTS review its quality assurance processes for the service of court orders to secure improvement and that existing processes for making data changes requests to amend or delete court orders should also be reviewed.