Kingston Magistrates' Court Under Threat Again!

29th June 2010

News that Kingston Magistrates’ Court is yet again under threat of closure has been met with disappointment and dismay from the Conservative Group.

The court rooms, which are situated underneath the Guildhall and have been in operation since the building opened in 1935, have been earmarked as one of 157 around the country deemed ‘underused and inadequate’ and could face closure in a drive towards a ‘more modern fit for purpose justice system’

The Borough has three levels of justice operating in Kingston; the Crown, County, and Magistrates’ Courts. The provision of Courts in this Borough goes back at least 400 years. The closure of the Magistrates’ Courts could lead to the disintegration of an efficient administrative unit to be replaced only with extra work and travel for an over stretched police force, and inconvenience for residents.

Were the courtrooms to be permanently closed, cases would be heard in the magistrates’ courts of neighbouring towns and Boroughs, such as Richmond, Wimbledon or Staines, meaning many Kingston residents would face additional expense and inconvenience as they are forced to travel across south-west London in order to see justice dispensed. It could also potentially lead to fewer police officers on the Borough’s streets as they would be required to leave the Borough every time they are needed to attend court.

Conservative Leader Cllr Howard Jones, himself a former policeman, said that the Conservative Group believes whole-heartedly with the principles of localism and the local agenda, and expressed his concern at the prioritising of financial issues, adding ‘we believe in local justice for local people and expecting justice to be at the whim of economic pressures is a slippery slope.’