The Scottish Government announced that it would make changes to the way services for offenders were planned, managed and delivered, following a consultation on options for redesigning the community justice system. Key changes included: transferring responsibility for the planning and delivery of community justice services to the Community Planning Partnerships; development of a national strategy for community justice and reducing reoffending; and a new national body to oversee the activity of community justice partners, with the ability to commission services nationally if required.
Source: Redesigning the Community Justice System: A consultation on proposals, Scottish Government
Links: Report | Summary | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) said that modern media presented new challenges for the protection of procedure in court. The report outlined the responses to an earlier consultation on contempt of court, and summarized existing law and practice. Recommendations included the introduction of a new statutory, imprisonable offence of sworn jurors deliberately searching for information related to the case.
Source: Contempt of Court (1): Juror misconduct and internet publications, LC340, Law Commission
Links: Report | Consultation document | Law Commission press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the scrutiny of Policy and Crime Commissioners during their first nine months in office. It said that central government had taken a more prominent role in scrutiny in some regions than first envisaged, due to ambiguity of legislative guidelines.
Source: Sophie Chambers, 'Who is policing the Police and Crime Commissioners?', Safer Communities, Volume 13 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A report evaluated the Flexible Criminal Justice System pilots that tested six different operating models, aimed at improving the timeliness and efficiency of the criminal justice system in England and Wales. The pilot models extended traditional operating hours, and extended the use and operating hours of prison to court video links and video courts. The report said that flexible arrangements could be effective, but the pilots highlighted implementation challenges that should be considered alongside the potential benefits.
Source: Nilufer Rahim, Tom Kenny, Rachael Owen, Caroline Turley, Carol McNaughton Nicholls, Natalie Jago, Jasmin Keeble, and Julian Roberts, Process Evaluation of the Flexible Criminal Justice System Pilots, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the role of Police and Crime Panels in England and Wales and the effectiveness of their scrutiny of Police and Crime Commissioners. The article drew on desk-top research, a literature review, and documentary analysis of meeting minutes. It noted the limited powers of the panel, contradictions in the model of scrutiny, the extent of political alignment between the panel and the PCC, and the ability of PCCs to constrain the scrutiny function.
Source: Stuart Lister, 'Scrutinising the role of the Police and Crime Panel in the new era of police governance in England and Wales', Safer Communities, Volume 13 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined public understanding of identification procedures in the United Kingdom criminal justice system. It said there was a general lack of understanding about procedure and process, and the research highlighted a number of misconceptions about the consequences of positively identifying an alleged offender.
Source: Gary Dalton, Julie Gawrylowicz, Amina Memon, Rebecca Milne, Ruth Horry, and Daniel Wright, 'Public perceptions of identification procedures in the United Kingdom', Policing, Online first
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank published a collection of essays from Police and Crime Commissioners, reflecting on their first year of office.
Source: Max Chambers (ed.), The Pioneers: Police and Crime Commissioners, one year on, Policy Exchange
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined policing in Britain. It noted that police forces had been subject to much recent reform, alongside new policing challenges and ongoing debates about the purpose, organization and governance of policing. It made recommendations for change, including: a formal acknowledgement of the social role of policing, and the value of neighbourhood approaches, with local prevention partnerships developed to involve local citizens; improvements to case handling procedures; clearer principles to guide the use of community disposals; discontinuation of the Police and Crime Commissioner model of local governance, with a greater role for local authorities in local police boards; consultation on the restructuring of police forces; development of clear principles for outsourcing and changes to procurement practices; and changes to the terms and conditions of employment for police officers and staff, including a code of ethics and changes to misconduct proceedings.
Source: Policing for a Better Britain: Report of the Independent Police Commission, Independent Police Commission
Links: Report | IPC press release | Police Federation press release | ACPO press release | BBC report | Guardian report | New Statesman report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Nov
A report by a committee of peers said that it had examined Protocol 36 to the Treaty of Lisbon and the list of measures to which the government would opt back in following its exercise of the opt out. The report said that the list of opt in measures did not go far enough, and highlighted the possible substantive and reputational damage of not seeking to rejoin other measures. The report said that the government should seek to rejoin the 35 measures that had already been identified, but also seek to rejoin further measures across five areas.
Source: Follow-up Report on EU Police and Criminal Justice Measures: The UK s 2014 opt-out decision, Fifth Report (Session 2013-14), HL 69, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Evidence | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that it had examined Protocol 36 to the Treaty of Lisbon and the list of measures to which the government would opt back in following its exercise of the opt out. The report highlighted areas of agreement and reservation and called for an early debate in the House.
Source: Ministry of Justice Measures in the JHA Block Opt-Out, Eighth Report (Session 2013-14), HC 605, House of Commons Justice Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that more restrictions were needed on intrusive terrorism powers to detain and search travellers' electronic devices at ports and airports. It called on the government to drop from the Bill the proposed new test to decide on payment of compensation for miscarriages of justice as, in the committee's view, it was incompatible with the presumption of innocence. The report suggested a number of other amendments to the Bill with regards to preventive measures against anti-social behaviour, and said that the Crown Prosecution Service should develop a strategy for the prosecution of forced marriage. The committee also recommended additional measures to protect against prolonged retention of DNA and other personal samples in criminal investigations. The report noted that the number of significant amendments to the Bill, combined with delays in receiving requested information from the government, had raised barriers to the effective scrutiny of the Bill.
Source: Legislative Scrutiny: Anti social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill, Fourth Report (Session 2013-14), HC 713 and HL 56, Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, TSO
Links: Report | HOC Briefing
Date: 2013-Oct
A government department published a new code of practice for victims of crime. The new code would come into force in December 2013 and included the right for victims to present their own 'victim personal statement' in court, and to receive information about restorative justice.
Source: Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, Ministry of Justice
Links: Code of Practice | MOJ press release | BBC report | Women's Aid press release | Victim Support comment
Date: 2013-Oct
A briefing paper examined the debates that took place on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill in the House of Commons at report stage and third reading. It identified amendments made to the Bill at report stage and highlighted some of the conclusions of the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights with regard to each part of the Bill.
Source: Dorothy Hughes, Matthew Purvis, and Russell Taylor, Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill (HL Bill 52 of 2013 14), Standard Note LLN 2013/029, House of Lords Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2013-Oct
The government introduced (following consultation) amendments to six of the codes relating to the the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The affected codes were: A (stop and search), B (search of premises and seizure of property), C (detention of suspects), E (audio recording of interviews), F (visual recording of interviews) and H (detention of terrorism suspects). The changes included the provision of access to an appropriate adult while in police custody for young people aged 17.
Source: Police, England and Wales: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Codes of Practice) (Revisions to Codes A, B, C, E, F and H) Order 2013, Statutory Instrument 2013-2685, Home Office, TSO
Links: Statutory Instrument | Hansard | Consultation responses | PACE Code A | PACE Code B | PACE Code C | PACE Code E | PACE Code F | PACE Code H
Date: 2013-Oct
The Home Office published a strategy on serious and organized crime.
Source: Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, Cm 8715, Home Office, TSO
Links: Strategy | Home Office press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A study examined the experiences of victims and witnesses within the criminal justice system. Victims and witnesses expressed anxiety and uncertainty around the process, a lack of opportunity to express the impact of the crime, and a perception of a lack of legal representation. Researchers found that victims also reported positive experiences including the support received from the Witness Service and criminal justice agencies. Recommendations included: better co-ordination of public spaces in the court; the avoidance of delays in process; and better communication with victims and witnesses.
Source: Gillian Hunter, Jessica Jacobson, and Amy Kirby, Out of the Shadows: Victims' and witnesses' experiences of attending the Crown Court, Victim Support
Links: Report | Victim Support press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The government published a summary of responses to a consultation on improving the code of practice for victims of crime.
Source: Improving the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, Ministry of Justice
Links: Consultation responses
Date: 2013-Oct
A new book examined how restorative conferences were used as part of the 'justice ritual'. The work developed a statistical model of the ritual elements of restorative justice and considered how these rituals might impact reoffending.
Source: Meredith Rossner, Just Emotions: Rituals of restorative justice, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Oct
An article identified and discussed four models that sought to explain the development of the criminal justice system and those whose interests it served. Three existing, apparently competing, and contradictory models were identified: the orthodox social progress model; the radical conflict model; and the carceral society surveillance model. The article introduced a fourth, the 'left realist hybrid model': this synthesized the others, and also recognized the collusion of the general public in the creation of an increasingly pervasive system of surveillance for social control.
Source: Roger Hopkins Burke, 'Theorizing the criminal justice system: four models of criminal justice development', Criminal Justice Review, Volume 38 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
The coalition government published revised proposals for criminal legal aid contracting in England and Wales, and began a new consultation. Plans to cut the legal aid bill by awarding contracts to the lowest bidder were dropped. But other proposed cuts to legal aid were retained: prisoners, and households with more than £3,000 per month of disposable income, would no longer be able to access legal aid.
Source: Transforming Legal Aid: Next Steps, Ministry of Justice
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | MOJ press release | Bar Council press release | Citizens Advice press release | BBC report | Guardian report | New Law Journal report
Date: 2013-Sep
A think-tank report examined ways in which courts were using their own initiative to find ways to cut costs, speed up cases, and reduce reoffending – in many cases without additional funding. Examples included: saving time by diverting low-level anti-social behaviour cases into community-led restorative justice panels; improving victims' experiences and making more effective decisions by specializing in certain types of issue such as domestic violence or drug addiction; and providing at-court support and advice services to help people access support with issues like mental health, addiction, debt or housing.
Source: Phil Bowen and Stephen Whitehead, Better Courts: Cutting crime through court innovation, New Economics Foundation
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the case for introducing personalization in the criminal justice system, drawing on the social care experience. Personalization would pose significant challenges, perhaps the biggest being the need to change criminal justice culture.
Source: Alex Fox, Chris Fox, and Caroline Marsh, 'Could personalisation reduce re-offending? Reflections on potential lessons from British social care reform for the British criminal justice system', Journal of Social Policy, Volume 42 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A joint inspectorate report said that urgent action was needed to streamline the criminal justice process, and to end 'unnecessary bureaucracy'. Although significant effort had been made in recent years to improve efficiency in both the custody and criminal justice process, there were a number of issues that continued to generate delays in processing cases.
Source: Stop the Drift 2: A continuing focus on 21st century criminal justice, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary/HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate
Links: Report | Inspectorate press release | ACPO press release | Labour Party press release | Police Federation press release
Date: 2013-Jun
The Scottish Government published (following consultations) a Bill designed to improve the criminal justice system. It included proposals to: modernize and improve efficiency within the criminal justice system; abolish the requirement for corroboration in criminal trials; increase the jury majority required for a guilty verdict to two-thirds of jurors; raise the maximum sentence for handling knives and other offensive weapons from 4 to 5 years; modernize the law around arrest and questioning of suspects; and improve the right to legal advice for individuals taken into police custody.
Source: Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Jun
The coalition government published a strategy for reforming the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It said that for too long the focus had been on introducing eye-catching initiatives that fail to tackle underlying problems in performance. It said that all parts of the system should be working towards achieving the same set of outcomes. It proposed a series of changes in management practice designed to eradicate delay, unnecessary work, and poor experiences for victims and witnesses. Courtrooms will be fully digital by 2016, ending the court service s outdated reliance on paper.
Source: Transforming the CJS: A strategy and action plan to reform the criminal justice system, Cm 8658, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Strategy | Hansard | MOJ press release
Date: 2013-Jun
The Crown Prosecution Service published its annual report for 2012-13.
Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, HC 31, Crown Prosecution Service, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jun
A report by a committee of MSPs said that communications between criminal justice organizations and victims and witnesses needed to be improved.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill, 7th Report 2013, SP Paper 332, Scottish Parliament Justice Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper examined judicial efficiency in 24 jurisdictions in developed (OECD) countries, including measures of trial length, accessibility of justice services, and the predictability of decisions. It identified scope for improving the functioning of justice systems through wider use of information technology, reductions in litigation, and lowering the rate of appeals.
Source: Giuliana Palumbo, Giulia Giupponi, Luca Nunziata, and Juan Mora-Sanguinetti, Economic Policy Paper 5, Judicial Performance and its Determinants: A cross-country perspective, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Paper | OECD press release
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined the role of external inspection in enhancing the quality of a criminal justice system. It said that the difference between inspection and other forms of scrutiny activity was largely a matter of emphasis; that the same was true of the difference between inspection and research; that 'lay' involvement in inspection could be beneficial; that independence was a core value for inspection, albeit one that was best understood as independence of judgement; that transparency was a further key value but not always honoured; and that evidence that inspection improved service delivery – and hence justified its costs – was weak, and further research was needed.
Source: Stephen Shute, 'On the outside looking in: reflections on the role of inspection in driving up quality in the criminal justice system', The Modern Law Review, Volume 76 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-May
A study examined attitudes to, and perceptions of, sentencing and the criminal justice system, drawing mainly on the 2010-11 Crime Survey for England and Wales. Attitudes to sentencing had changed little since 1996: most people thought that the courts were too lenient. Views about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system appeared to be fairly stable: after long-term falls in trust and confidence, this trend had changed in 2003 to one of stability, and even a slight increase in public confidence in the police.
Source: Mike Hough, Ben Bradford, Jonathan Jackson, and Julian Roberts, Attitudes to Sentencing and Trust in Justice: Exploring trends from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | Tables (spreadsheet)
Date: 2013-May
The government began consultation on proposals to cut £220 million from the criminal legal aid budget. Proposals include stopping defendants with a disposable income of more than £37,500 per year from automatically receiving legal aid and curbing prisoners' right to legal aid.
Source: Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system, Ministry of Justice
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | MOJ press release | Bar Council press release | Howard League press release | BBC report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Apr
A new book examined the existing state of the penal system in England and Wales, and how to move towards a reduced role for it (prison in particular) while maintaining public confidence and safer communities.
Source: Anita Dockley and Ian Loader (eds), The Penal Landscape: The Howard League guide to criminal justice in England and Wales, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
A new book examined 'justice reinvestment' – an approach to addressing the penal crisis that uses the best available evidence to redirect resources to more effective rehabilitation of offenders and better prehabilitation , focusing on the community dimensions of offending and re-offending.
Source: Chris Fox, Kevin Albertson, and Kevin Wong, Justice Reinvestment: Can the criminal justice system deliver more for less?, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
The Crime and Courts Bill was given a third reading. A National Crime Agency would be created to take the lead on organized crime, enhance border security, and fight cyber crime. Television cameras would be allowed into courtrooms 'in limited circumstances'.
Source: Crime and Courts Bill [HL], Ministry of Justice, TSO | Debate 18 March 2013, columns 697-764, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC research brief
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined victims' perceptions of a restorative justice process, implemented as victim-offender mediation. Victim satisfaction remained high throughout the review, consistent with previous research.
Source: Jac Armstrong, 'Factors contributing to victims' satisfaction with restorative justice practice: a qualitative examination', British Journal of Community Justice, Volume 10 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Feb
A briefing paper examined barriers to the effective use by the courts of the mental health treatment requirement (MHTR) within community orders. The MHTR had unfulfilled potential to offer offenders with mental health problems the option of a sentence in the community that would enable them to engage with appropriate treatment and support. Wider use of the MHTR could result in improved health outcomes and reduced reoffending, cutting the costs of crime for the wider community.
Source: Gael Scott and Stephen Moffatt, The Mental Health Treatment Requirement: Realising a better future, Centre for Mental Health
Links: Briefing
Date: 2013-Feb
The Court of Appeal ruled that the automatic disclosure to employers of all convictions and cautions on Criminal Records Bureau checks, regardless of their relevance to the job in question, was disproportionate and incompatible with the right to private life under the Human Rights Act.
Source: T, R (on the application of) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester & Ors, Court of Appeal 29 January 2013
Links: Judgement | Liberty press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined mutual recognition in the European Union in criminal matters. It determined a legal definition of the principle in criminal matters and then a procedure for its implementation. It said that mutual recognition should be viewed both as a new legal principle and, in a broader sense, a new system of European criminal co-operation.
Source: Guillemine Taupiac-Nouvel, 'The principle of mutual recognition in criminal matters: a new model of judicial cooperation within the European Union', European Criminal Law Review, Volume 2 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jan