Cuts Watch #88: magistrates’ courts

22 Jun 2010, by Richard Exell in Cuts Watch

Conservative newspapers the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph report today that Ministers will announce tomorrow that 150 of the country’s 350 magistrates’ courts will be closed.

Interestingly, the Telegraph version of the story [no link] says that “the government is anxious to avoid claims that cuts in front line resources will affect the services the public gets” and that the government’s argument will be that these courts are “under-used.” The Telegraph also quotes an anonymous chief police officer saying that it is no surprise the courts are under-used, given the large falls in recorded crime – a fact that was not frequently reported by the Telegraph before the election.