MAGISTRATES who fought to save Okehampton court from the axe two years ago are concerned over the latest decision to transfer police prosecutions from Okehampton to Exeter.
From next week all Crown Prosecution cases will cease at Okehampton Magistrates' Court and it will only deal with non-police work such as cases brought by West Devon Borough Council, Devon County Council and the Environment Agency.
The court, which utilises the offices of West Devon Borough Council in Oaklands Drive, will continue to run fortnightly, but local magistrate Peter Hill fears this could be the final nail in the coffin for the court.
'It is very sad news to all of us who think easy access to courts for defendants, witnesses and police is terribly important,' said Mr Hill, who has been a strong campaigner for local justice.
'I fear it will be difficult to keep the court going on non-police work alone.
'Unfortunately, the majority of people do not appear in court so the only ones who are consulted over proposals like this are people like the Crown Prosecution Service who use the courts all the time. If they could find someone to prosecute I suspect the court would remain the same.'
Because of its central position in Devon, Okehampton was saved from closure two years ago when a review of magistrates' courts in Devon and Cornwall took place — many were not so lucky, including Tavistock.
Clerk to the Central Devon Justices Andrew Mimmack said taking some business away from the court and centralising it was not a move towards closing down the facility.
'If the Devon and Cornwall Magistrates' Courts Committee ever decided to close the court at Okehampton it would need the Lord Chancellor's authority to do so and a full public consultation would have to take place,' he said.
Mr Mimmack said Okehampton was a low crime area and the vast majority of police prosecutions there over the past year were related to A30 traffic offences where defendants were from outside the area anyway. Under the new 'Narey' fast-track system for prosecutions, many criminal cases in the Okehampton area were already being dealt with at Exeter.
'The reality is that defendants and witnesses have been able to get to Exeter without too much difficulty,' he said.
District Commander for West Devon Chief Inspector Barry Frost said the decision to relocate police prosecutions to Exeter would cause some 'minor inconvenience' to the local force with officers having to travel further to attend court hearings.
'West Devon is as a whole the best performing district in Devon and Cornwall at the moment as far as the police are concerned and we will do our best to make sure things do not change,' he said.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service in Exeter said the decision to reduce business at Okehampton was made by the magistrates' courts service and was not made by the request of the Crown Prosecution Service.