Islington Tribune - News: Prisoner overcrowding leads to chaos at court

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Islington Tribune - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 15 February 2008

Prisoner overcrowding leads to chaos at court

‘Going round in circles’: solicitors speak out over backlog of cases

SOLICITORS have described scenes of chaos at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court as prison overcrowding led to more and more prisoners being kept overnight in court cells.
The Tribune was told the situation reached a “critical mass” yesterday (Thursday) when up to 30 prisoners with nowhere to go clogged up all the court’s cells.
This meant prisoners needing to be brought in from all over London for early morning court hearings were left jammed in the system, and forced to miss their cases.
Staff at the courts are believed to be exhausted from working long shifts to cater for the extra overnight guests.
Her Majesty’s Court Service last night refused to answer the Tribune’s questions on the extent of the crisis but furious solicitors have described last night’s disruption.
Liberal Democrat councillor and a solicitor Greg Foxsmith said: “Cases listed for 10am this morning were still queueing up to be heard at 4pm today. There’s a huge backlog. Lawyers and witnesses had to wait all day for their cases to be heard. This is the worst that anyone’s ever seen it.”
Legal Aid lawyer Theresa Hendricks said the crisis has had a knock-on effect for people held in custody, who are becoming lost in the system.
She said solicitors and families are increasingly losing track of prisoners as they are being shifted from cell to cell and prison to prison.
Ms Hendricks said: “It’s absolute chaos. Prisoners don’t know where they are going. When we leave them at court we have to tell the families we don’t know where they are being sent.
“People are just being moved round in circles, you literally lose people. If they have no money in their account they can’t buy a phone card and tell their families where they have been sent. One of my clients was sent to four prisons in three weeks. His family didn’t know where he was. When solicitors can’t find their clients, we can’t phone or write to them.”
She added: “Magistrates are much more likely to grant bail to clients, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s weighing on everybody’s mind.”
Legal Aid lawyer Robert Kaim said: “We’re supposed to be acting under simple, speedy, summary justice – that’s the new slogan for the courts. But my client, who was charged on Wednesday night, and should have been seen at the earliest hearing on Thursday morning, was only brought to the court cells at 1.45pm. The administration of justice is being delayed. I’m paid a fixed fee, I’m supposed to be at the court in the morning and I’m ready, but I can’t take instructions or address my clients because they aren’t there.”
He added: “Vera Baird (Department for constitutional Affairs minister) and her colleagues are all telling the public that the system is working, but it isn’t.”
A spokesman for Her Majesty’s Court Service said: “Disruption to court business due to overnight use of the court cells should not occur. We are aware of the exceptional occasions where this has happened and Ministry of Justice agencies are working with escort contractors to improve processes and ensure that court business is not affected.”

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