Shropshire Star comment: Video link should be welcomed
Only somebody who is not a Shropshire defendant, relative of a defendant, solicitor, magistrate, police officer, or Shropshire anything, can believe a system which exports Shropshire remand cases to Kidderminster is a good idea.
Step forward, then, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, whose changes have been a step backwards which have caused inconvenience, upset, and extra costs to all the Shropshire people who find themselves forced to use a system which even at its best is not working well.
Only the most unreasonable body could have been completely deaf to the many complaints, fully reported in this newspaper, which have come from many quarters.
The only reason that there has not been a public uprising is that the operation of the courts system does not impact on the day-to-day lives of most Salopians, and some have limited sympathy for the accused and their families anyway, although in fact we are talking about people who are innocent until guilt is proven.
There has come a chink of light following the intervention of West Mercia’s police and crime commissioner, John Campion. The courts service has said it is going to continue the Kidderminster-centric system, but is willing to consider the use of video links to run the hearings.
This is the out-of-the-box thinking and application of new technology which could make the unacceptable acceptable.
It is ridiculous that Shropshire defendants are having to go by bus to Kidderminster, or be taken by police, for remand hearings which may last only a few minutes.
New technology opens up so many opportunities and the police and courts have been slow in seizing them.
Look at the potential benefits of using video links. They will save travelling, time, and money. Yes, there will surely be some snags, and some situations in which video link hearings are not practical. Only through use will these be ironed out.
The current system is an offence against common sense. Video link hearings offer a potential improvement and should be tried as, at the very least, it is hard to see how they could make things worse than they are now.
