A new book examined public views on criminal justice, focusing on public opinion towards specific types of offenders, such as sex offenders and mentally disordered offenders.
Source: Jane Wood and Theresa Gannon (eds.), Public Opinion and Criminal Justice, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Dec
A new book provided a comprehensive overview of race and ethnicity across the criminal justice system – including police, prosecution, prisons, and probation.
Source: Hindpal Singh Bhui (ed.), Race and Criminal Justice, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Dec
The government published a report summarizing its approach to offender management. To achieve the best and most cost-effective outcomes for victims and the public, both prison places and effective community punishments were needed.
Source: Punishment and Reform: Our approach to managing offenders – A summary, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report said that the criminal justice system faced major pressures in the coming years, with 'contradictory' government policy placing staff under enormous strain.
Source: Richard Garside and Nic Groombridge, Criminal Justice Resources Staffing and Workloads: An initial assessment, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies/King's College London (020 7848 1688)
Links: Report | CCJS press release
Date: 2008-Dec
The government published a progress report (the first of an annual series) on the range of commitments made in response to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee report of June 2007 on young black people and the criminal justice system.
Source: Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry: Young Black People and the Criminal Justice System – First Annual Report, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report said that prosecutors needed a clearer understanding of the needs of victims and witnesses with mental health issues or learning disabilities. It criticized a lack of information in the recording of cases involving disabled people, warning that this could lead to prejudice in the judicial system.
Source: Vanessa Lee and Corrine Charles, Research Into CPS Decision-making in Cases Involving Victims and Key Witnesses with Mental Health Problems and/or Learning Disabilities, Crown Prosecution Service (020 7796 8000)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Dec
The government announced (in the Queen's Speech) plans for a Coroners and Justice Bill. The Bill would provide for 'investigative witness anonymity' to protect witnesses to gang-related killings; reform murder law, including abolishing the partial defence of provocation; 'modernize' the law on assisted suicide to increase 'public understanding'; establish a Sentencing Council for England and Wales to make sentencing more consistent; and introduce a scheme to stop criminals selling their stories to the media.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 3 December 2008, columns 8-9, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | NO2ID press release | INQUEST press release | SPUC press release
Date: 2008-Dec
The Scottish Government published a plan for the management of offenders. The main elements of the plans included: the introduction of a new community payback sentence, which offenders would sign off before they left court, involving unpaid work starting within a week and finishing within six months; legislation to make clear that judges should not impose a custodial sentence of six months or less unless they felt that there was no other option; and allowing judges to hold review hearings to check, and seek to maintain the progress of, community sentences.
Source: Protecting Scotland's Communities: Fair, fast and flexible justice, Scottish Government (0131 556 8400)
Links: Plan | SG press release
Date: 2008-Dec
A joint inspectorate report examined the operation of the new charging arrangements in England and Wales, phased in during 2004-2006, under which the Crown Prosecution Service took over responsibility from the police for determining whether alleged offenders should be charged in the more serious or contested cases. Statutory charging had delivered benefits to the criminal justice process, by improving criminal case management and reducing delay in the courts. Nevertheless some aspects of the scheme needed to be 'substantially refined' in order to be fully effective.
Source: The Joint Thematic Review of the New Charging Arrangements, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (020 7210 1197) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | Summary | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined accused people's choice of solicitor and their understanding of the criminal justice process. Of those using the duty solicitor at the police station, almost half did so because they did not know who else to use: but almost a quarter believed that duty solicitors were employed directly by the police, and 40 per cent believed that duty solicitors were employed directly by the government.
Source: Vicky Kemp and Nigel Balmer, Criminal Defence Services: Users' Perspectives – An interim report, Legal Services Research Centre/Legal Services Commission (020 7759 0000)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Nov
An article examined Scottish criminal justice institutions; statistical trends in crime and punishment; the history and politics of Scottish criminal justice; and the emergence of a distinctively Scottish criminology. It highlighted the cross-cutting modalities of power and identity that had shaped both institutional and policy development.
Source: Lesley McAra, 'Crime, criminology and criminal justice in Scotland', European Journal of Criminology, Volume 5 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Nov
A report said that people with learning difficulties faced 'personal, systemic and routine' discrimination across the criminal justice system, from arrest to release from prison, and were more likely to be victims of miscarriages of justice.
Source: Jenny Talbot, No One Knows: Report and final recommendations – Experiences of the criminal justice system by prisoners with learning disabilities and difficulties, Prison Reform Trust (020 7251 5070)
Links: Report | PRT press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Nov
A report said that programmes to stop offenders from committing further crimes were poorly adapted for people with mental health problems. They failed to address the most common causes of offending, such as lack of a home and lack of a job. Most offending behaviour programmes had low success rates, and some excluded prisoners with severe mental illnesses entirely.
Source: A Review of the Use of Offending Behaviour Programmes for People with Mental Health Problems, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (020 7827 8300)
Links: Report | SCMH press release
Date: 2008-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that there was a 'chronic lack' of data on community orders in England and Wales. No-one knew how many orders had been completed, and it was difficult to gauge their impact on re-offending.
Source: The Supervision of Community Orders in England and Wales, Forty eighth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 508, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Alcohol Policy UK press release | Telegraph report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Nov
A study found that a pilot scheme giving families of murder victims a chance to tell the court how the death had affected them had proven to be a success. Families welcomed it as an opportunity to have their voice heard in court, and felt a sense of positive and active involvement in the trial. Families reported the process of preparing and delivering the statement to be therapeutic.
Source: Anna Sweeting et al., Evaluation of the Victims' Advocate Scheme Pilots, Research Report 17/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report | MOJ press release
Date: 2008-Oct
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill to strengthen judges' independence and modernize the administration of Scotland's courts. All the country's courts would be brought under the administration of the Lord President, the head of the Scottish judiciary.
Source: Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | SG press release
Date: 2008-Sep
A think-tank report said that people had become 'passive bystanders' in the criminal justice system, uninformed about crime and punishment and less likely to participate in maintaining justice than people in other countries. It called for the 'radical decentralization' of the criminal justice system – including the creation of locally elected 'justice commissioners', whom people could hold accountable for the maintenance of order and pay for through local taxes.
Source: Richard Giangrande et al., The Lawful Society, Reform (020 7799 6699)
Links: Report | ACPO press release
Date: 2008-Sep
A report summarized the results of an experiment (using a randomized control trial) designed to test the impact of providing information to the public upon confidence in the criminal justice system. There was evidence that the effective presentation of national and local crime statistics, and other information about the criminal justice system, could have a positive impact on public confidence.
Source: Lawrence Singer and Suzanne Cooper, Inform, Persuade and Remind: An evaluation of a project to improve public confidence in the criminal justice system, Research Report 15/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Sep
The Scottish Government announced plans for reforming the criminal justice system. Among the measures to be included in a Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill were: plans to crack down on prisoners who used mobile phones to run criminal activities from prison; an extension of sexual offences prevention orders to better safeguard the public; and new provisions to protect the public from exposure to extreme pornographic material. The Bill would also include measures to help detection of crime, and to make sentences served in the community more robust, immediate, and visible.
Source: Revitalising Justice: Proposals to modernise and improve the criminal justice system, Scottish Government (0131 244 7050)
Links: Report | SG press release
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that government policies aimed at diverting minor offences from court had resulted in 'extensive net-widening', with individuals being brought within the ambit of the criminal justice system who previously had been ignored or dealt with informally – particularly young offenders.
Source: Rod Morgan, Summary Justice: Fast – But Fair?, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies/King's College London (020 7848 1688)
Links: Report | CCJS press release | BBC report | Telegraph report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Aug
A report examined the effects of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, which introduced a range of measures intended to help child and adult vulnerable witnesses give their best evidence in court. The Act was contributing to an increasing awareness of the needs of vulnerable witnesses, and was generally welcomed by interviewees.
Source: Patsy Richards, Sue Morris and Eddie Richards, Turning Up the Volume: The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Date: 2008-Aug
The opposition Conservative Party published proposals to tighten the bail laws. Public safety would be made an explicit consideration in all bail decisions. There would be a new offence of breach of bail, punishable with imprisonment.
Source: Public Safety First: Reducing the risk of offending by suspects on bail, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Aug
An annual statistical report was published on race and the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Members of black communities were seven times more likely than their white counterparts to be stopped and searched, three-and-a-half times more likely to be arrested, and five times more likely to be in prison.
Source: Alex Jones and Lawrence Singer, Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System – 2006/7, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report | ACPO press release | APA press release
Date: 2008-Jul
Emergency legislation was introduced to restore trial judges' powers to grant anonymity to witnesses, following a Law Lords' ruling in June 2008 stating that defendants needed to know who was testifying against them.
Source: Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008, Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Explanatory notes | Hansard (second and third readings) | MOJ press release (1) | MOJ press release (2) | Bar Council press release | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jul
A new book brought together important material in race and ethnic studies, and provided different ways of thinking about race and ethnicity in relation to crime and the criminal justice system.
Source: Basia Spalek, Ethnicity and Crime: A Reader, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jul
A manifesto was published for action to reform the criminal justice system. It said that the government should announce a moratorium on prison building, and spend the £2.3 billion earmarked for new prison places on alternative measures to deal with offenders more effectively in the community.
Source: Rethinking Crime and Punishment: The Manifesto, Esme? Fairbairn Foundation (020 7297 4700)
Links: Manifesto
Date: 2008-Jul
The government published a policy statement on the prosecution of crimes against older people.
Source: Prosecuting Crimes Against Older People, Crown Prosecution Service (020 7796 8000)
Links: Statement | CPS press release
Date: 2008-Jul
The government began consultation on whether the rules governing the enforcement of bail conditions and the grant of bail to suspects charged with murder should be revised in the light of recent cases of murder and manslaughter committed by persons on bail.
Source: Bail and Murder, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Consultation document | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report examined what determined citizens' confidence in the justice system. It asked whether levels of confidence reflected simply the performance of the justice system, or were shaped by other factors, such as personal characteristics or attitudes towards public institutions. The available international survey data showed that the levels of citizen confidence in the justice system in the United Kingdom were around the European average, at about 50 per cent in 1999-2000: it also suggested little major change in recent years following a rapid decline in the 1980s.
Source: Steven Van de Walle and John Raine, Explaining Attitudes Towards the Justice System in the UK and Europe, Research Report 9/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Date: 2008-Jun
Researchers examined whether restorative justice reduced re-offending and/or provided value for money. It was found that offenders who participated in restorative justice committed fewer offences (in terms of reconvictions) in the subsequent two years than offenders in the control group.
Source: Joanna Shapland et al., Does Restorative Justice Affect Reconviction? The fourth report from the evaluation of three schemes, Research Report 10/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Jun
The government outlined plans for emergency legislation to allow witnesses to give evidence in court. The move followed a Law Lords ruling that there was not sufficient authority in common law to provide for the existing arrangements for the admission of anonymous evidence.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Debate 26 June 2008, columns 514-524, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | MOJ press release | ACPO press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that involving offenders, former offenders, and their families in the development of criminal justice policies and services would improve rehabilitation and reduce crime.
Source: Unlocking Potential: How offenders, former offenders and their families can contribute to a more effective criminal justice system, Clinks (01904 673970)
Links: Report | Clinks press release | Nacro press release
Date: 2008-Jun
The government announced (in the draft Queen's Speech) plans to introduce a Law Reform, Victims and Witnesses Bill, designed to reform some aspects of the criminal law on homicide; and to improve provisions in courts for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. Prison sentences would be set nationally by an independent body, which would take into account the amount of space available in jails.
Source: Preparing Britain for the Future: The government's draft legislative programme, Cm 7372, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Draft Queens Speech | Amendments | MOJ press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-May
The Law Officers' Departments published their annual report for 2007-08.
Source: Departmental Report 2008, Cm 7406, Law Officers' Departments, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-May
An article examined the potential of restorative justice (in particular, conferencing) to bring about reductions in re-offending. There was a case to be made for a subtle shift in ways of thinking about the recidivism-reduction potential of restorative justice: that is, as an opportunity to facilitate a desire, or consolidate a decision, to desist.
Source: Gwen Robinson and Joanna Shapland, 'Reducing recidivism: a task for restorative justice?', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 48 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-May
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 was given Royal assent. The Act included measures to: end automatic sentence discounts for offenders resentenced to an indeterminate sentence after an initial sentencing decision had been ruled unduly lenient; stop the 'plainly guilty' having their convictions quashed because of procedural irregularities; give powers for courts to make dangerous offenders given a discretionary life sentence serve a higher proportion of their tariff before becoming eligible for parole consideration; and create a presumption that trials in magistrates' courts would proceed in the absence of the accused. An amendment to the Bill abolished the offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel.
Source: Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Act | Explanatory notes | NSS press release | BHA press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-May
A report by a committee of MSPs examined a Bill to strengthen judges' independence and modernize the administration of Scotland's courts. The Committee said that it agreed with the general principles of the Bill.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill, 11th Report 2008, SP Paper 91, Scottish Parliament Justice Committee, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum
Date: 2008-May
The government announced (in the draft Queen's Speech) plans to introduce a Coroners and Death Certification Bill, designed to create a new national coroner service, moving towards whole-time coroners working to national minimum standards (though funding responsibility would remain with local authorities); and introduce new powers of investigation for coroners, including improved procedures for post mortems and inquests.
Source: Preparing Britain for the Future: The government's draft legislative programme, Cm 7372, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Draft Queens Speech | Amendments | MOJ press release
Date: 2008-May
The government confirmed (in the draft Queen's Speech) plans to introduce a Constitutional Renewal Bill, designed to place the civil service on a statutory footing, and establish an Independent Commission for the Civil Service; reform the role of the Attorney General, who would no longer be able to give a direction to prosecutors in individual cases, save in certain exceptional circumstances; and reduce the role of the Lord Chancellor in judicial appointments below the level of the High Court.
Source: Preparing Britain for the Future: The government's draft legislative programme, Cm 7372, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Draft Queens Speech | Amendments | MOJ press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-May
A 'capability review' was published of the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry's capability for future delivery was assessed as 'well placed' in only 2 of the 10 elements in the model of capability: but there were no areas of 'serious concerns'.
Source: Ministry of Justice Baseline Assessment, Cabinet Office (020 7261 8527)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Apr
A framework document set out the terms of an agreement reached by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice on a partnership between them in relation to the effective governance, financing, and operation of the Courts Service in England and Wales. The new arrangements placed the leadership and broad direction of the courts in the hands of a new board with an independent non-executive chair.
Source: Her Majesty's Courts Service Framework Document, Cm 7350, Lord Chancellor and Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Framework | MOJ press release
Date: 2008-Apr
A report examined research on drivers of public and participant satisfaction with courts and tribunals.
Source: Richard Moorhead, Mark Sefton and Lesley Scanlan, Just Satisfaction? What drives public and participant satisfaction with courts and tribunals, Research Report 5/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Mar
The Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales published the first in a series of annual reports on the effectiveness of the court system, covering the period since April 2006. It said that both judiciary and staff were 'seriously overstretched'.
Source: The Lord Chief Justice's Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts, HC 448, Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Personnel Today report | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
The government published (following consultation) a White Paper and Draft Bill on constitutional reform. It put forward a new requirement for the Attorney General to report to Parliament on an annual basis, and reduced the powers of the Attorney General in respect of decisions to prosecute. It removed the Prime Minister from the process for appointing Supreme Court judges, and reduced the Lord Chancellor's role in judicial appointments below the High Court. It put the Civil Service's core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality into law, as well as the fundamental principle of appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
Source: Governance of Britain: Constitutional Renewal, Cm 7342, Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: White Paper | Draft Bill | Analysis of Consultation | Hansard | MOJ press release | Civil Service Commissioners press release | Attorney General press release | Law Commission press release | Bar Council press release | LGA press release | Liberal Democrats press release | FT report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Mar
An official report recommended that evidence from the interception of communications could be used in a limited number of terrorist cases in the interests of national security and justice. The government said that it accepted the recommendations of the report, though guidelines would be drawn up to ensure that the interests of national security were never compromised.
Source: Privy Council Review of Intercept As Evidence, Cm 7324, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 6 February 2008, columns 959-971, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Hansard | JUSTICE press release | Liberty press release | Law Society press release | Liberal Democrats press release | FT report | Telegraph report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Feb
A new book examined modern developments in the field of restorative justice, including issues of concern to victims, offenders, courts, mediators, and restorative justice practitioners.
Source: Martin Wright, Restoring Respect for Justice: A symposium, Waterside Press (01962 855567)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jan
An article examined recent research on community penalties, and in particular the contribution of Home Office research. A perceived need for information management might be leading to an unhelpful narrowing of methodological choices. This approach risked neglecting features of community sentences which required investigation, and at worst could encourage a drift back towards a belief that 'nothing works'.
Source: Peter Raynor, 'Community penalties and Home Office research: on the way back to "nothing works"?', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 8 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jan
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill was given a third reading. The Bill included measures to: end automatic sentence discounts for offenders re-sentenced to an indeterminate sentence after an initial sentencing decision had been ruled unduly lenient; stop the 'plainly guilty' having their convictions quashed because of procedural irregularities; give powers for courts to make dangerous offenders given a discretionary life sentence serve a higher proportion of their tariff before becoming eligible for parole consideration; and create a presumption that trials in magistrates' courts would proceed in the absence of the accused.
Source: Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 9 January 2008, columns 325-489, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2008-Jan
The Scottish Government published a Bill to strengthen judges' independence and modernize the administration of Scotland's courts. All the country's courts would be brought under the administration of the Lord President, the head of the Scottish judiciary.
Source: Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jan