TORONTO - People in Ontario are waiting longer for justice regardless of where they live, with both big cities and smaller towns waiting the better part of a year for criminal charges to wind their way through the system, an investigation by The Canadian Press has found.

It took nearly seven months - or 205 days on average - for criminal charges to be resolved in Ontario courtrooms last year, up from 176 days in 2000 and 115 days in 1992, government statistics show.

In 2007, homicide charges took an average of 286 days to be resolved in provincial and federal courtrooms, up from 275 days in 2000. Sexual assault charges are taking a month longer to be resolved, up to 293 days last year from 261 days in 2000.

The longest waits were in Peterborough, where criminal charges took an average of nine months, or 269 days, to be dealt with. That was more than twice the time it took in 2000 and even surpassed Toronto's average of 250 days last year, up from 205 days in 2000.

Stratford had the shortest wait last year, with an average of 92 days, an increase of just under a month since 2000.

Outrage over the long waits seemed to reach a fever pitch this year after several high-profile cases crumbled in court due to delays, sparking demands for action to cut down on wait times.

Last January, a judge stayed charges against six former members of the Toronto police drug squad, blaming the prosecution's "glacial pace" for violating the rights of the accused officers to a timely trial.

It was one of the largest cases of police corruption in Canadian history, prompting calls for a public inquiry by opposition critics incensed by the Crown's bungling of the case.

Attorney General Chris Bentley came under fire again in April when Robert Baltovich was found not guilty mere minutes into his second trial after the Crown said it had no evidence to support a conviction.

Baltovich, who spent eight years in prison after being found guilty of killing his former girlfriend Elizabeth Bain, was released on bail in 2000 and spent years waiting for a new trial.

In the wake of his acquittal, Bentley acknowledged that 18 years was too long for Baltovich to receive a fair trial and vowed to do "whatever it takes" to improve the system.

But after four years of pouring millions of dollars into hiring more judges, prosecutors and police officers, Bentley said he's taking a different tack by attacking unnecessary court appearances.

The average number of appearances in criminal cases has more than doubled to 9.2 in 2007 from 4.3 in 1992, despite the province's efforts to bolster judicial resources, Bentley said.

"The challenge of courts getting slower and there being more appearances for every criminal case has been around for years," he said.

"The statistics indicate that the problem is becoming worse."

Bentley has promised to slash that number - and the average number of days needed to complete a criminal case - by 30 per cent over four years.

"Why things are happening, I think, is part of the analysis that we're going through," he said.

"But we have taken a different approach than what's been used in the past, and I think that's important."

The province is also awaiting a review of how large and complex criminal cases are handled by Ontario's justice system - a report prompted by the Toronto police corruption case.

But all the advice in the world won't change the fact that the Liberals have "flatlined" the ministry's budget, said NDP justice critic Peter Kormos.

"There remain serious shortages of judges, court space, Crown attorneys, court staff and the system support that these people need," he said.

While reducing appearances is a good start, Ontario courtrooms are still starving for more provincial resources, said Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.

"There are lawyers and others who are gaming the system, sometimes perhaps at the instruction of their clients, to seek out delays for as long as possible so that the day of reckoning is postponed as long as possible," he said.

"I think we've got to crack down on both of those. We've got to supply the resources and stop people from gaming the system, and I think that'll make a big difference."