Changes to the Magistrates' Court remand arrangements in Shropshire have been branded "patently ridiculous" by the Deputy Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council.
As mentioned in an earlier post on the Magistrates' Blog, from 1st April 2018 those remand cases being handled by Telford and Worcester Magistrates' Courts were transferred to Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.
In practical terms this means anyone arrested in the Telford or Worcester areas has to be transported to Kidderminster by van. If, for whatever reason, a prisoner misses the once-daily van then they are held in police custody until the van the following morning, which has led to claims that the police are being left "babysitting" prisoners. The police in Worcester even went as far as advising anyone wanted on warrant the best time to hand them self in to avoid missing the van.
The Deputy Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Richard Ollerton, has written a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Justice about the new arrangements.
Councillor Overton said the system is not providing justice, adding: "This is not a just system and it is leading to problems for victims, witnesses, defendants, solicitors and police officers.
"I strongly urge the Lord Chancellor to reconsider the arrangements as it is patently ridiculous that there is no overnight remand court in a county the size of Shropshire."
"It has led to defendants being held in cells longer than necessary and also led to some people having logistically complex journeys home following their court appearance, which will only add to their stress.
"It also goes against the core principle of local justice for local people and means a more costly system with many cases adjourned in Kidderminster to come back to Shropshire.
"It was much simpler under the old system – defendants could walk from Telford police station to Telford magistrates or be driven to Shrewsbury."
A HM Courts and Tribunal Service spokesman said the new system was set up to "improve waiting times for victims and witnesses". He added: "As a result of this initiative, additional trial courts have been listed which will reduce these waiting times. The Judicial Business Group will continue to work with all our partners."
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