The Department told us that having good data across the criminal justice system is a crucial first step in achieving the right outcomes and bringing the courts backlog down. In December 2021, the Department published two scorecards—one covering all crime and one covering adult rape—that bring together data on performance across the criminal justice system, including on the size of the backlog, timeliness and victim attrition. The Department said that through publishing these data it is seeking to improve transparency and assess what is happening within each part of the system, for example where victims are most likely to withdraw from the process.41 It is also planning to publish local scorecards at the level of individual police forces, and acknowledged it needs to be careful 31 Q41 32 Q39 33 Q42 34 Q42 35 Qq27–32 36 The Bar Council (RBC0007) 37 Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire (RBC0004), The London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (RBC0005), Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (RBC0006) 38 Q38 39 Q26 40 Qq38, 49 41 Qq22, 33 Reducing the backlog in criminal courts 13 that publishing and using these data does not threaten the operational independence of the police, Crown Prosecution Service or judiciary.42 The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said that these data should not be used to punish partners in the criminal justice system but instead enable them to deliver improvements and share best practice.43