20 February 2008
Justice Minister David Hanson has called on Local Criminal Justice Boards to take the lead in responding to the needs of their communities and delivering improved services.
David Hanson made the plea during a speech delivered to the North Wales Annual Conference of Local Criminal Justice Boards.
In the five years since the creation of the boards, significant achievements in the criminal justice system have been made, thanks to their vital contributions and partnerships. Local initiatives such as Simple Speedy Summary Justice have enabled the speedier resolution of cases, benefiting victims and witnesses alike. This has led to an increase in early guilty pleas and a decrease in adjournments, which fell in September 2007 to their lowest since 1994.
David Hanson said:
'I believe that leadership by local boards is essential to building a more responsive, efficient and effective system. We can - and have - set the overall framework for our vision. Now our role is to provide the ongoing support and information that is needed by the boards to deliver this vision successfully.
'We in central government need to take a step back and have the courage to be more hands-off about how those targets are achieved and to allow the boards to decide - using their knowledge and expertise about their communities.'
He highlighted and announced:
- Progress over the last 10 years, resulting in crime falling by a third, new standards set in services for victims and witness, improved court facilities, closer work with communities through programmes such as Community Justice and Community Payback, over 40,000 offenders benefiting from education training or employment following release from prison as well as a net 15,000 increase in the number of prison places by 2014 (2,500 this year).
- A new Criminal Justice Strategic Plan for 2008-2011, building on progress and placing new emphasis on local boards taking the lead.
- The roll-out of the Beacon approach more widely in the coming year to build up the tools and ability of local boards to implement change.
- Plans to extend strong criminal justice partnerships to address the needs of youth offenders
- A recent consultation on the Reducing Reoffending Strategic Plan to look at building on good work to date and better reduce reoffending over the next three years.
- The creation of six probation trusts from this April (including South Wales and Dyfed-Powys) giving more freedom to find innovative ways of reducing reoffending.
- The National Offender Management Service taking on agency status in April, bringing together national and regional management of prisons and probation for the first time, strengthening the links between the wider criminal justice system and the work of prison, probation and youth justice services.
Notes to editors
1. The Reducing Reoffending Strategic Plan will be published in the late spring and will take into account consultation responses.
2. In the summer there will be a Youth Crime Action Plan accompanied by a Green Paper on improving resettlement to tackle reoffending.
3. For details about the conference please contact Mike Mullis 01745 588 626.