Video links for virtual courts to save cash

POLICE officers, witnesses, defendants and experts will routinely give evidence without setting foot in a courtroom under an £11million expansion in the use of video links.

A network of cameras is being set up in police stations and other facilities to let officers and expert witnesses such as psychiatrists provide evidence without having to take a whole day off work.

The idea, part of a move towards virtual courts, is being piloted in a threeyear scheme at magistrates’ courts and inquests in London and the South East.

Ministers hope it will free up police time by letting officers return to other duties faster as it takes an average of five hours for them to go to court.

It will also save money. For example, it costs around £1,000 for a defendant to be transferred from a secure mental health facility even for a preliminary court hearing before trial.

The scheme will also make it easier for vulnerable victims who fear having to testify in front of their attacker.

The trial is only for summary offences tried at magistrates’ courts but if successful, it is likely be introduced at other courts across the UK.