Greater Manchester's courts issued more than 3,000 arrest warrants after suspects failed to appear in the dock last year

But legal charity Transform Justice says the warrants, which can lead to prison time, are a waste of police time and an unfair punishment.

Ministry of Justice figures show 3,054 failure to appear warrants were issued in magistrates courts in the Greater Manchester Local Criminal Justice Board area in 2019: a seven per cent increase on the year before.

Across England and Wales, more than 70,000 failure to appear warrants were issued, with defendants potentially receiving a fine or being sent to prison for the offence.

Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice, said she wasn’t convinced the “punishment fits the crime”.

“Someone who doesn’t turn up for their court hearing may not have got the letter, or may have mental health problems or lead a chaotic life,” she said. “They should of course turn up for their court hearing, but maybe the response to failure to appear may need to be different.”

With 99,000 court hearings in GM last year, it means that failure to appear warrants were needed for around 3.1 per cent – slightly below the 3.6 per cent national averages.

More than 60 per cent of the warrants were issued for offences such as theft and burglary, which could be heard in either magistrates courts or Crown courts.

Ms Gibbs says failure to appear warrants were a poor use of police resources, particularly for people who “seldom pose an immediate threat to public safety”. She suggested new approaches such as the use of text messages to remind people about trial dates and giving them a second chance to come to court if they can be reached by phone.

Ms Gibbs said the decline in warrants was due to justices dealing with less serious cases being instructed to sentence people in their absence if they don’t turn up.

But John Bache, national chair of the Magistrates Association, said the number of warrants being issued is still very concerning. He said: “When people do not attend court when required to do so it leads to delays in the justice system, which is a waste of scarce resources and may also be upsetting for victims.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the warrants ensure people attend court and prevent further delays, but that the decision to issue them is a matter for the independent judiciary.