MORE criminals are being brought before West Yorkshire courts.
New figures show the criminal justice system is getting better at delivering justice.
Figures for West Yorkshire show the county's courts are ahead of targets set by the Government.
Incomplete trials at Crown Courts have also fallen in number, while significant progress has been made to reduce incomplete trials in magistrates' courts, including Huddersfield.
Neil Franklin, chairman of West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board, said: "It is satisfying to see improvements in the delivery of justice in the county over the year.
"The hard work and effective joint working of West Yorkshire's criminal justice agencies are yielding results for local people," added Mr Franklin.
"Yet we also know that we cannot be complacent and that we still have a great deal of work to do.
"My colleagues on the West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board and I will continue working closely together to increase the public's confidence of the criminal justice system by constantly improving the service we deliver to the community."
The caseload for the year ending December, 2003, showed that 70,405 cases were put before magistrates in the county, with 69,180 cases completed - an increase of about 3% on 2002.
Of those cases, 37,357 saw defendants plead guilty.
There were 5,404 cases taken to Crown Courts.
The West Yorkshire Criminal Justice Board was set up in April, 2003, to manage the criminal justice system at a local level.
It, along with another 41 boards across England and Wales, reports to the National Criminal Justice Board, which supports them in their work to meet public service agreement targets at a local level and to reduce crime in West Yorkshire.
