Courthouse back in use in drive to clear huge backlog
Published: 00:00, 18 October 2007
Updated: 11:34, 18 October 2007
A KENT town's courthouse is to be brought out of mothballs to hear criminal cases in a bid to clear a massive backlog of trials.
A rash of not-guilty pleas before North Kent magistrates means up to double the national average of cases wait for trials.
There is a backlog of about six months before a criminal trial can be completed.
That compares with a national average of anything between 12 and 20 weeks, and a Kent average of 17 weeks.
Now the county court, in King Street, Gravesend, is to be brought back into use for criminal cases in a bid to cut delays and meet national guidelines.
Malcolm Dodds, clerk to the justices at North Kent Magistrates, including Medway and Dartford, said: "We have a higher than expected not guilty plea rate, which means we have a large number of trials."
* See the Gravesend Messenger for the full story.
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