Criminals are now being dealt with far more quickly in Oxfordshire's courts.

In the past six months, the number of court hearings and length of time a victim, witnesses and defendants must wait for the case to be concluded has been reduced.

The majority of cases are now being dealt with in eight weeks of a 'not guilty' plea being entered.

Previously, the majority of defendants would be made to wait up to 12 weeks and attend court about six times before a trial date.

In October, 78 per cent of defendants who entered a guilty plea were dealt with at the first hearing and all the not guilty pleas were dealt with in two hearings.

Jonathan Lane, area director of Her Majesty's Court Service, said: "The defendant is now fully aware of the case against him or her at the outset, which results in more guilty pleas being entered at the initial hearing.

"There are no more unnecessary adjournments. Some of the administrative arrangements previously agreed at court are now dealt with without a formal hearing."

The reduction has followed an initiative called Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary, by Her Majesty's Court Service, Thames Valley Crown Prosecution Service, Thames Valley Police and Thames Valley Probation.

Christine Pusey, Senior Crown Prosecutor in Oxfordshire, said: "The automatic adjournment of first hearings is now history. Robust case management ensures that the trial issues are identified at the earliest stage, to cut the length of trials."

Chief Supt Shaun Morley, Oxfordshire Police Commander, said: "The benefit of an offender receiving justice near the time of charge has an immediate and significant impact, leading to less work for officers overall."

Director of Offender Management for Thames Valley Probation, Paul Gillbard, said the new scheme allowed for more criminals to be sentenced on the day they were convicted.