Prisoners held for more than 8,000 hours after courts move from Telford to Kidderminster

The remand courts policy was brought in for Shropshire in April 2018 and has seen all hearings taking place in Kidderminster, instead of a Telford Magistrates Court as under the previous arrangement.

Solicitors have been hugely critical of the proposals, which mean all prisoners requiring remand hearings are held at Telford's Malinsgate Police Station until they are transported to Kidderminster by secure van.

Previously they would have been walked through a tunnel connecting the police station to the neighbouring magistrates court.

The courts service has defended the move and argued that policy has speeded up the wait for trials to be held at Telford Magistrates Court.

Now Shropshire Defence Advocates Group has calculated the length of time prisoners have spent between being disposed of – either when they are denied bail or arrested on a warrant – and being transferred to court.

They say the total amount of time they have been held comes to 8,227 hours 16 minutes – from April 2 2018 to September 7 this year. Also 57 prisoners were detained for longer than 24 hours awaiting a hearing.

'A ludicrous waste of public money'

John McMillan Co-Chair of Shropshire Defence Advocates Group said the situation is wholly unnecessary.

He 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 said that the system makes no sense with a working magistrates court just metres from Telford's Malinsgate Police Station.

He said: "Shropshire 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 previously said it was looking into the use of video link to prevent the need for transporting prisoners.

Mr McMillan said they were now hopeful it will be introduced in spring next year. He said: "On a slightly more optimistic note, our members made it clear before this shambles was brought in that they would be prepared to cooperate with video link hearings that will prevent transportation. We have engaged with this development and it now looks like it will commence in the Spring of next year."

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment without comparative figures for the system before prisoners were dealt with in Kidderminster. It has been unable to produce those figures.