The British Criminal Bar Association is calling for urgent courtroom funding after part of a roof collapsed in a London court building. It follows several recent accidents and near misses in aging British courts, including a recent electric shock suffered by a staff member.
The associations’s lawyers frequently complain of cold courtrooms, blocked toilets and unsafe buildings in courtrooms. Yesterday, it cited “dripping and crumbling ceilings and walls in robing rooms, court corridors and court rooms along with the health hazards of ripped carpets and chairs and broken and dirty washrooms” as unsafe for judges, barristers and the public.
Criminal Bar Association
It released several photos showing a ceiling tile collapsed onto an usher’s desk in the annex building at Inner London Crown Court, located on the south side of the Thames River. The roof collapse occurred on Friday of last week and details have only recently emerged. Nobody was injured and the room was shut down for repairs and safety checks.
Criminal trials and pleas are heard in the Crown court, but it’s not yet known if any were delayed.
The ceiling collapse came after a Snaresbrook Crown court staff member was shocked and suffered minor injuries while plugging in an electrical device last Thursday.
Separately, Harrow Crown Court will be closed for up to nine months after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) concrete was discovered in the roof. RAAC is a lightweight material with bubbly texture that was used mostly in flat roofing, but also in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s.
It is susceptible to structural failure when exposed to moisture and is in many buildings throughout Britain.
The Law Society of England and Wales conducted a survey last year which found that 30 percent of respondents believe London’s courts are not fit for purpose.
The Criminal Bar Association posted pictures of the ceiling collapse in Inner London on social media, with the comment:
“When metaphors become a tragic, crumbling, perilous reality. This was Inner London Crown Court Friday 22 September 9.30am. Court usher’s desk. We mean it when we say criminal barristers long ago stepped away from metaphorically holding up the roof in a collapsing criminal justice system.
“There remains a physical reality of a downgraded and neglected collective public space that court users are compelled to travel through and the place of work for criminal barristers and judges alike.
“Dripping and crumbling ceilings and walls in robing rooms, court corridors and court rooms along with the health hazards of ripped carpets and chairs and broken and dirty washrooms sends an unwelcome signal to both criminal barristers, judges and all those caught up in the justice system that their working lives are not valued.”
Last month, the government announced £120m [$146 million] in funding for modernization and repair work on court buildings.
A British Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The improvements to the court estate will ensure those on the front line of the justice system will benefit from modern energy efficient heating and cooling systems to projects that will make our buildings accessible and sustainable.”