New measures to give communities more say in justice
29 April 2009
A range of new measures that gives communities more say in the way justice is delivered in their neighbourhoods as well as making local criminal justice agencies more accountable to the people they represent has today been announced by ministers.
This will include pioneering a new package of measures in 30 areas across England and Wales to test a range of initiatives that will deliver justice for all and put people back at the heart of the justice system.
The areas identified sit within: Greater London, Merseyside, South Wales, Leicestershire, Cheshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, West Midlands, Cleveland, Humberside, Nottingham and Greater Manchester.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw has also launched a prototype of the first justice website to give local sentencing information in one place to ensure people have the chance to see how justice is being effected in their communities.
The Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice Green Paper builds on the government’s commitment to ensure that justice is not only done, but seen to be done, and follows the recent launch of a campaign to give people more say in how offenders pay back in their communities – including the chance to vote on which local projects they would like community payback teams to complete as part of their community sentence. This comes alongside the recent appointment of Victims Champion Sara Payne and the launch of crime maps.
Jack Straw visits the Newham Community Justice Project
29 April 2009
The 30 pioneer areas will pilot a package of measures, including:
- The introduction of Community Prosecutors with a specific role to engage with communities alongside the police, courts and others and ensure that local priorities inform casework decision making and local Crown Prosecution Service priorities.
- Community Impact Statements which will give communities the chance to feed in their views on crimes in their area and the impact they have on local people. The statements, which are normally collated by the police, will be used by all facets of the criminal justice system such prosecution, probation and courts.
- Extending the use of Citizens’ Panels to give local people more say in how offenders on Community Payback schemes repay the community for their crimes through tough projects.
- Establishing ‘Virtual Community Justice Teams’ to apply a more intensive problem-solving approach to anti-social and criminal behaviour. This will tackle reoffending by identifying and offering tailored rehabilitation, such as drug assistance programmes.
Over and above this, the government will be consulting on a number of other key initiatives. These include:
- Establishing a new Adult Restorative Justice Strategy. Restorative justice has been used effectively by police to confront young offenders with the consequences of their actions, ensure they are able to make amends to their victims and help them to develop a sense of personal responsibility. The initiative has delivered excellent time and costs savings to the police and court system.
- Adopting commuinity justice problem-solving techniques in all magistrates’ courts. This seeks to address issues at the root of certain types of offending – such as drug abuse – and so tackle the cycle of reoffending by giving magistrates the tools and techniques needed to put in place a specialist approach to rehabilitating such offenders.
- Involving communities more fully in the selection and deployment of district judges (magistrates' courts) by working with the Judicial Appointments Commission to lift the veil on how judges are selected and provide more transparency to the public. We also plan to increase the representation of magistrates from a wider range of backgrounds by working with employers and looking at the ways to make it easier for people in full-time employment to be magistrates.
- Creating a system of ‘hallmarks’ for magistrates’ courts entitled ‘Justice in the Community’ – repositioning magistrates’ courts to reinforce their purpose in delivering justice for and within local communities.
- Increasing volunteering in criminal justice services through increased promotion of opportunities through the local criminal justice boards.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
‘I want people to have full confidence in the justice system. An important part of this is ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done.
‘The chance of becoming a victim of crime is the lowest in 25 years; the challenge now is to increase public confidence.
‘The package we are announcing today represents a fundamental shift towards giving communities more of a say in the justice system.
‘We have already made major improvements in this area. Today’s announcement is the next stage. People must have more influence in how justice is delivered in their villages, towns and cities – and that is exactly what today’s Green Paper sets out to achieve.’
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:
‘The public are our best weapon in fighting crime. That is why we want to make sure people have their views heard and that they are kept updated on what has and is being done by the criminal justice system. The recent Policing Green Paper, the Casey Review and the Policing Pledge are all about giving the police the freedom to do their job and giving the public more say on crime in their neighbourhoods.
‘If people understand and trust the criminal justice system and see it as a public service, they will be able to get on with their lives without fear of crime, secure in the knowledge that there are tough consequences for those who break the rules. This document provides an opportunity for the people to have a say on a crucial system which has their needs at its heart.’
The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC, superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is responsible for deciding the charge and taking to court the majority of criminal cases in England and Wales.
Baroness Scotland said:
‘Prosecutors are increasingly engaged with the people they serve, routinely engaging with victims and witnesses in person, and explaining decisions to communities and the wider public.
‘The community prosecutor approach will enable the CPS to be more visible to, and better understood by, their local communities. Community prosecutors will enhance our ability to respond to local needs and circumstances, with local prosecution teams informed about matters of local concern, understanding the communities they serve and building strong links with people from surrounding neighbourhoods.’
Jack Straw added:
‘This is a real opportunity for people to have a say – to make their voice heard on such a vital issue for them and for their community. I urge them to take this opportunity.’
Responses can be made online, via email or by post. Details of how to respond as well as a summary of the Green Paper, and a link to the full Green Paper document can be found online. The consultation will run until Friday 31 July 2009.
- Online consultation tool
- Email
- Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice consultation responses
Race, Confidence and Justice Unit
Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Ground Floor (NW) Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Notes to editors
1. For media enquiries please call Ministry of Justice Press Office on 020 3334 3536
2. Prototype justice website containing sentencing outcomes
3. To nominate local projects for consideration as part of the Community Payback projects please visit Directgov, where the outcomes of the latest round of voting will be published in June.
4. Information on the policing pledge
5. The Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice Green Paper which sets out its proposals for transforming criminal justice from a system that does things in communities into a true service that does things for and with communities.
The paper launches a consultation process looking at how local communities, the police, local criminal justice agencies and other local partners can best work together to reduce crime, raise community confidence, improve information to local people and lower the fear of crime. It is also is looking at what makes people get involved in tackling problems in their community.
The consultation also forms part of the Government’s response to the Cabinet Office Review, Engaging Communities in Fighting Crime, led by Louise Casey.
6. A highlight of the Green Paper is the proposed roll out of an Engaging Communities Package to 30 areas across England and Wales. The package brings together a number of linked pilot projects, including Community Prosecutors, Community Impact Statements, Citizens Panels and Virtual Community Justice Teams, into a coordinated building block for each community. The areas include:
- Hackney
- Newham
- Tower Hamlets
- Haringey
- Islington
- Barking and Dagenham
- Lambeth
- Waltham Forest
- Greenwich
- Brent
- Liverpool
- Knowsley
- Halton
- Manchester
- Salford
- Rochdale
- Nottingham
- Kingston upon Hull
- North East Lincolnshire
- Middlesbrough
- Birmingham
- Sandwell
- Wolverhampton
- Walsall
- Blackpool
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Doncaster
- Leicester
- Cardiff.
6. The Green Paper, together with the Policing Green Paper and the ‘Justice Seen, Justice Done’ campaign, is the government’s overarching strategy for engaging communities with all elements of the criminal justice system.
7. The government encourages and welcomes comments on the proposals in the Green Paper and seek the views of the public and the very many dedicated professionals and volunteers who work in and with criminal justice organisations.
9. Responses to the consultation can be made in a number of ways. You can respond using the online consultation response facility or, alternatively, via email or by post. Details of how to respond as well as a summary of the Green Paper, and a link to the full Green Paper document can be found on the Criminal Justice System website.
10. The consultation will run until Friday 31 July 2009.
11. Summary of proposals
Chapter 1: Understanding and addressing community concerns and problems through the prosecution and the courts
- The Community Prosecutor approach
Ensuring Crown Prosecution Service is able to play full role in community engagement alongside the police, courts and others through visible, proactive and accessible community-facing district/borough Crown Prosecutors and supporting teams, working as part of the wider Criminal Justice System teams to engage with communities and to ensure local priorities inform casework decision making and local Crown Prosecution Service business priorities. - Extending the use of Community Impact Statements as a problem-solving and engagement tool
Extending use of Community Impact Statements to make community views more visible to Community Justice services and as a mechanism to feed community views directly into the justice process. Provides a format for consideration of offences in the context in which they are committed. We are also exploring the possibility of a response to the statements as part of our plans for keeping communities better informed (see below). - Rolling out adoption of problem-solving principles to all magistrates’ courts
Roll out the problem-solving approach to all magistrates’ courts, helping the offender to address the underlying issues that cause them to commit crime. Includes pre-court meetings, judicial engagement with defendants, involving third sector and section 178 reviews (see below) of community orders. - Extension of the powers under Section 178 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
The power to return offenders to court during their community order for a review of their progress. Linked to judicial continuity for the offender which supports the problem-solving approach. Section 178 is currently only enacted for the 13 existing community justice courts. - Expanding the current community justice programme by creating one or more co-located Community Justice project(s) in a suitable existing magistrates’ court building
Co-located Criminal Justice System agencies with advice and support services, offering the full problem-solving service on-site within an existing magistrates’ court building. - Expanding the current community justice programme by creating dedicated, multi-agency ‘virtual’ Community Justice teams (not co-located) to handle suitable cases
Multi-agency teams dedicated to 'community Justice' cases, which come together on appropriate cases to offer the full problem-solving approach and support services. - Re-focusing the role of district judges (magistrates’ courts) and volunteer magistrates explicitly to include adoption of the problem-solving approach and a requirement to engage with local communities
Alter the job/role requirements of each to include adoption of the problem-solving approach and community engagement. - Involving local communities in the selection and deployment of district judges (magistrates’ courts)
Looking at the opportunities for community involvement in the selection and deployment process for new district judges so that local residents within the court catchment area sit on the interview/selection panels and can feed in views on deployment. Working with the Judicial Appointments Commission to make the appointments process more transparent and increase public awareness of how judges are appointed. - Developing further strategies for increasing magistrates’ representativeness of the local communities in which they sit
Activity would be focused on increasing diversity (age/ethnicity/background, etc) amongst volunteer magistrates by increasing the pool from which volunteers come. To include employer engagement and work with Key Individual Networks (community representatives such as faith leaders with good links to the Criminal Justice System) to encourage more volunteers from deprived backgrounds to apply. - Creating a system of hallmarks for magistrates’ courts entitled 'Justice in the Community'
Repositioning magistrates’ courts to reinforce their purpose in delivering justice for and within local communities.
Chapter 2: Making Amends: Increasing the intensity and visibility of Community Payback
- Extending intensive Community Payback with faster delivery
Make Community Payback tougher and more immediate by considering extending nationally the West Yorkshire pilot on intensive unpaid work and seeking to start offenders on projects within five days of sentencing whenever possible. - Increasing the visibility and impact of Community Payback
Building on the introduction of Community Payback uniforms and bringing together all the work we are already doing on Community Payback into a clearer ‘offer’ for the public. - Systematic engagement of citizens in Community Payback
We propose to roll out nationally the Citizen Panels launched in six areas around the country on 29 September 2008, starting in the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Pioneer Areas.
Chapter 3: Keeping communities informed, getting people involved, empowering communities
- Joined up online access to all Criminal Justice System outcomes and performance data
Developing the overall offer to the public on what information they can expect, from where, including developing links with crime mapping, to enable justice mapping for local areas, including sentencing data and out of court disposals. Ensuring the public are aware of online information on the performance of their local criminal justice agencies, and that this information is easily accessible. - Improving the availability of and public access to information on individual case outcomes
Systematic use of a range of communications channels to give regular, in-depth updates on specific case outcomes of cases that are of concern to the community. - Creating a national network of criminal justice engagement team leaders under the direction of Local Criminal Justice Boards
Providing a 'hub' for, and improving the coherence and sequencing of, individual Criminal Justice System agency engagement activities by Neighbourhood Policing Teams, Her Majesty's Courts Service and others and ensuring effective joint working between each Local Criminal Justice Board and the Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships within its boundary in respect of community engagement. - Increasing volunteering in Criminal Justice Services
We want to encourage community involvement in the Criminal Justice Services and propose to introduce a toolkit to enable Local Criminal Justice Boards to raise awareness and streamline processes for the full range of volunteers in the CJS.
