Court closure will deny justice to victims, says Councillor Daalat Ali

Court closure will deny justice to victims of crime in Rochdale

Planned government cuts to the court service will deny Rochdale residents their right to justice, Councillor Daalat Ali, has argued.

Bury and Rochdale Magistrates Court is one of 91 court venues across the UK slated to be shut by the Ministry of Justice in the latest round of cost cutting.

A public consultation on the proposed closure, which would see services moved to Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court, ended earlier this month with a final decision expected early next year.

According to Government estimates the move would result in savings of £528,000.

Councillor Ali, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community, said moving the courts further away from the community could have a disastrous effect.

He said: “You cannot put a price on justice and the closure of this court will have a deeply negative impact for victims of crime in Rochdale.

“With traffic issues in our area and a train service which is regularly hit by delays, travel times to Manchester are significantly longer.

“That means witnesses will be less likely to co-operate and Police Officers, who should be on the beat in our local community, will have to take more time away to attend court hearings.

“Services in Rochdale have already been greatly diminished in recent years. We no longer have our own custody suites and our policing and Youth Offenders Service have been downgraded.

“By closing this court, the Government would make it even harder for people in Rochdale to get access to justice.”

Rochdale Magistrates Court was closed during the last round of government cuts in 2011 when services were moved to Bury.

Under the recent proposals, Rochdale cases would be heard alongside those from Bury, Oldham, Stockport and Trafford at the central Manchester venue.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said: “I am concerned that Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court will not be able to cope with this increased workload.

“That would mean victims and witnesses traveling from Rochdale will be more likely to have their cases delayed or rescheduled.”