Justice secretary Jack Straw has called on magistrates to deal with more cases themselves rather than sending them on to the Crown court.

Speaking at the Magistrates’ Association conference in Birmingham, Straw noted that the number of cases in the magistrates’ court fell by 9% in the first half of 2009 to 900,000, while the Crown court’s workload rose by 8% to 46,900.

He said that in 2007, around 59,000 defendants were sentenced in the Crown court in ‘either way’ cases, of which 20,000 could, on the face of it, have been dealt with by ­magistrates.

In 2006, he said, 80% of fines for theft offences in the Crown court were for less than £200, and 59% of those were for less than £50.

‘I believe there is a strong case for magistrates being more confident in retaining jurisdiction,’ said Straw.

‘It is, at the very least, worth asking yourselves the question: are the matters at issue so serious that a Crown court trial is necessary?’

Magistrates’ Association chairman John Thornhill said trial guidelines often meant cases had to begin in the Crown court.