OXFORD Magistrates’ Court may not be able to cope with the extra workload caused by closing other courts around the county, lawyers and magistrates warned last night.

John Howson, who is deputy chairman of the Magistrates’ Association of England and Wales, said closures proposed by the Government would would treat justice “like a baked bean factory” leaving little capacity to cope with rises in crime.

Last week Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke published plans to close courts in Didcot, Witney and Bicester, as part of a money-saving drive to axe 157 magistrates’ and county courts across England and Wales. The move would leave the county with just two magistrates' courts, in Banbury and Oxford.

And yesterday, Mr Clarke also announced changes to sentencing policy, meaning magistrates will be expected use more “community sentences” such as unpaid work and curfews to rehabilitate criminals, rather than sending them to prison.

Prof Howson, who sits on the bench in both Oxford and Didcot, warned that consultations over the closures must examine whether busy courts, like Oxford, could cope with the extra caseload.

He said magistrates were already worried about the length of time it was taking for cases to end up in court, and justice should be dealt with quickly and as close as possible to where the offence took place.

He added: “It is rather like treating courts like a baked bean factory, where you know how many you need to produce on a conveyer belt.

“Crime goes up and down. Detection rates go up and down. If it goes up, you must have some spare capacity in the system to ensure victims and witnesses do not wait longer.”

Mr Clarke’s proposed changes to sentencing could cause further log-jams, because extra hearings may be required to receive sentencing reports if criminals were not sent straight to custody, he suggested.

And solicitor and former policeman Pete Gotch, of Criminal Law Advocates, Didcot, said: “We all think the closure of Didcot Magistrates’ Court is a bad thing.

“We know there has got to be cut backs, but to make everybody go to the Oxford court will cause real problems.

“Most of what we do is publicly funded, and to send everybody to Oxford, which is already a busy court, will cause longer waiting time, more delays, more travelling, and much more expense all round.

“It will create a much worse service.”

Witney town mayor James Mills appealed for Witney court to be spared. he said: “Witney magistrates’ is perfectly fit for purpose, and is modern and efficient.

“It would be a problem if it closed as there are no direct public transport links between Witney and Banbury. It’s quite a long car journey – and that’s assuming everybody has access to a car.”

The Ministry of Justice says its programme of closures would save £15.3m each year and a maintenance backlog bill of £21.5m. Prof Howson said that amounted to just £300 for each half-day a court sat.

Mr Clarke said it was a “no brainer” that dilapidated court buildings should close, but said his plans would not reduce the number of magistrates or their powers.

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk