West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner welcomes courts improvement cash

July 02 2020
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner welcomes courts improvement cash

A Ministry of Justice announcement that will see an extra £285 million of Government money invested to improve courts and prisons this year has been welcomed by West Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

A sum of £142 million is being allocated to modernising courtrooms.

The investment into courts system is intended to speed up technological improvements, building on projects already in place to digitise court hearings.

West Mercia PCC, John Campion said: “This investment will make a real difference to how justice is delivered in West Mercia.

“I am delighted that the Government answered calls to modernise the court system, upgrading technology and future-proofing the criminal justice system.

“I have already invested locally by supporting Virtual Remand Hearings but there is so much more to be done if we are going to ensure justice is delivered in a fair and timely way – too many victims are having to wait years to see justice delivered at present. 

“The court system is not immune from the effects the Covid-19 pandemic has had in our community and I have recently called for urgent action to tackle court delays.

“I am committed to the needs of victims in West Mercia and this will be welcome news to those that have waited too long to see their court cases heard.

“Unfortunately, those victims are likely to have suffered avoidable stress and anxiety caused by lengthy timescales to have their cases heard.”