Shropshire Remand Cases: Defence Advocates Reiterate Concerns

Defence advocates using Telford Magistrates' Court have again highlighted the "ludicrous" situation that sees remand prisoners transported 25 miles to Kidderminster, despite perfectly good facilities being available locally.

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.

It would appear that Telford Magistrates' Court, like so many others, has become an unloved satellite venue used mainly for trials.

Using information obtained via Freedom of Information requests, the Shropshire Defence Advocates Group, which has vigorously opposed the new remand arrangements, have calculated that transporting prisoners from Telford to Kidderminster has resulted in more than 8,000 hours of unnecessary custody between 2nd April 2018 and 7th September 2019. It also claims that 57 prisoners were detained in excess of 24 hours before being presented at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court.

John McMillan, co-chair of the Shropshire Defence Advocates Group, said: "In a country which prides itself on the rule of law, to detain prisoners for an unnecessary 8,227 hours is almost beyond belief, but it is happening.

"This new policy is also a ludicrous waste of public money which is compounded by the cost of free bed and breakfast provided by the police for an unnecessary 8,227 hours, the blocking of police cells that are unavailable for new arrests, the costs of transportation, the costs to Shropshire relatives in journeying to Kidderminster and released prisoners returning to Shropshire with a free rail ticket, the costs of Shropshire police officers having to attend there and their resultant inability to carry out their duties in Shropshire whilst they are in the next county and the costs incurred by public funds in paying for lawyers to travel thousands of unnecessary miles per month to service this – not to mention the crass and wasteful carbon footprint all of this brings about."

Mr McMillan, a partner at Telford-based WMB Law, continued: "Shropshire (Telford) Magistrates Court is still open every day for business with secure cells, fully staffed and prior to April 2018 Shropshire prisoners were produced in a Shropshire court by being taken through the secure tunnel from the police station to the court – one minute away – which was the most efficient way to deal with them."

The Ministry of Justice has said that it is looking into the possibility of providing videolink facilities between Telford and Kidderminster, which would negate the need for remand prisoners to make the 25 mile journey. The new videolink should be in place by Spring 2020.

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on the findings of the Shropshire Defence Advocates Group, explaining that there were no comparable figures available from before the changes were introduced.