Current Initiatives
Criminal Justice, Simple, Speedy, Summary
CJSSS (Criminal Justice, Simple, Speedy, Summary) aims to reduce the number of court hearings for each case from a national average of five hearings to one for guilty plea cases and two for trials. It will also target the length of time cases are taking from charge to conclusion from the national average of twenty-one weeks to six to eight weeks.
Its target is for criminal justice agencies to work together to provide a service that is focused on streamlining the Magistrates Court process, improving confidence in criminal justice system, freeing up Criminal Justice System resources and ultimately providing an improved service to victims and witnesses.
Staff from the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Her Majesty’s Courts Service, the Probation Service and defence solicitors in Cheshire have been looking at these issues over the past few months to take forward this change. It has been running in Crewe (and Macclesfield) since 13th August 2007 and was rolled out to the West of the county in October and the North in December.
Although it is early days for the initiative results are positive with an increase in early guilty pleas and a reduction in adjournments.
No Witness, No Justice
The No Witness, No Justice initiative aims to improve the service given to victims and witnesses of crime. Since March 2004 each new case received by the Crown Prosecution Service in Cheshire involving a victim, produces a letter from the Victim and Witness Care Unit. This letter explains the Court process or any case results. Additionally the letter provides contact details for the victim should they have any enquiries about their case. Especially vulnerable victims, such as those affected by domestic violence or hate crime, are proactively contacted by the unit to carry out a needs assessment and to offer additional support which is available from other agencies.
Witness Care Units have now opened in Cheshire to support both victims and witnesses. Further information on these units can be found on the menu on the left
The Charging Scheme
Introduced in Cheshire in September 2003 in Shadow form, the Charging Scheme transfers the responsibility of deciding charges in certain types of cases from the Police to the Crown Prosecution Service. Dedicated experienced prosecutors will work with the police from start to finish, from advising the police on lines of enquiry and what evidence should be gathered, reviewing the case continually, to deciding the charge. It means the courts, the police, and prosecutors will all use their time more productively and efficiently. It will bring the police and prosecutors together, working towards a common goal. Fewer charges will be amended, and fewer charges will be dropped.
Prolific and Priority Offenders scheme
This targets the most prolific, anti-social and harmful offenders in our communities, who have been identified locally through police intelligence. The PPO strategy is split into three distinct strands: Prevent and Deter, Catch and Convict and Rehabilitate and Resettle. For more detailed information please visit http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/ppo/ppominisite01.htm.
Criminal Case Management Programme (CCMP)
This will form a major part of future criminal justice reform. We are looking to make sure that we get the charge right from the outset of a case, providing support for and improving the experience of going through the criminal justice system for victims and witnesses of crime.
Effective Trial Management Programme.
Its aim is to join up the improvements being made across different agencies, ensuring a more co-ordinated approach to how cases are processed through the system.
Effective trial management is supported by the Criminal Case Management Framework, issued in July by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State, Attorney General and Baroness Scotland. The Framework provides guidance on how cases might be managed most effectively and efficiently from pre-charge to conclusion. The Criminal Case Management Framework contains a series of measures designed to inform and remind the defendant from charge through to disposal. These improvements are being put in place in Cheshire.
Local Crime: Community Sentence
The aim of the initiative is to enable the general public to better understand how offenders are sentenced in the local courts and how they are supervised by the Probation Service in the community. In order to achieve this, the Local Crime: Community Sentence (LCCS) scheme arranges for Magistrates and Probation staff from Cheshire, working in pairs, to make free presentations to members of the public. For more information please refer to the "current initiatives" on the download section of this site or refer to the Cheshire Probation website at: www.cheshireprobation.org.uk
Operation Pay Back
Forces across the region take part in week long blitzes on fine dodgers. Fines Enforcement Officers, assisted by police, target defaulters to collect outstanding money owed to the courts. The final results of the last blitz in Cheshire showed that 22,675 people were targeted in the North West with the help of five Constabularies.
As well as recovering outstanding monies owed to the court, the operation sends a clear message to defaulters that the non-payment of fines will not be tolerated.
Warrington’s Community Action Team Inspector, Brian Heywood, said: "Pay Back was a resounding success and substantially reduced the number of outstanding fines in the borough. But if the need arises we will be conducting this kind of joint operation again so the message should be clear; if you receive a fine pay it promptly."