Gloucestershire courts "not fit for purpose", says Gloucestershire PCC
Martin Surl is calling for more to be established in the county
Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner is calling for more courts to be established in the county.
PCC Martin Surl says the current two courts - a magistrate's in Cheltenham and a crown court in Gloucester - are "not fit for purpose".
There were a big round of closures of courts in the county in 2012 including those in Cirencester and The Forest of Dean.
Further closures of sites in Gloucester and Stroud shortly followed in 2016/17 leaving one magistrate's court in Cheltenham to serve the entire county.
Martin Surl, Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner, said:
"The closures saw us left with just one magistrates court in the entire county for 600,000 to 650,000 people.
"Also a building that's not that great. Gloucester Crown court was built by Napoleonic prisoners of war - interesting building - but not really fit anymore for court purposes.
"And what is tragic is that neither are compliant with The Equality's Act so if you're disabled you really can't have a case heard there or give evidence".
The backlog of court cases waiting to be heard in Gloucestershire due to delays caused by the pandemic has topped over 1,050 - with some thought not to be heard until 2022.
A Nightingale Court is opening in Cirencester and is due to start hearing cases on January 25. But Mr. Surl says the pandemic has "made things difficult".
"With the pandemic it's really tricky because as Gloucester Crown Court is listed it can't be adapted or modified to make it Covid compliant.
"So we're down to one court, one dock and the same in the magistrate's court to a degree and the buildings don't lend themselves to this situation.
"This means there's no room to take up the slack that's been caused by the pandemic".
The impact on victims - and defendants - is enormous with Mr. Surl saying there's no room for "swift justice".
He says delays on court hearings means victims are losing patience and aren;t able to get on with their lives.
Similarly, defendants are unable to have their day in court to make their plea which hinders punishment and rehabilitation as well.
The Ministry of Justice says they're investing £153m to improve court and tribunal buildings – the biggest single investment in court estate maintenance for more than 20 years.
Further to this. £83 million is being channelled to make the courts estate Covid-secure, support remote hearings, recruit 1,600 additional staff and create new Nightingale courts – 16 of which are up and running.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC MP said:
"We are seeing positive signs thanks to our efforts to keep the justice system running, including a big increase in the number of jury trials.
"This funding will help us speed up justice in our courts and continue to deliver modern prison places that keep criminals off the streets and cut reoffending".