WELCOME FROM THE BOARD CHAIRMAN
Welcome to the Cumbria Criminal Justice Board website. I hope you will find it both interesting and informative.
Over the last year, Cumbria Criminal Justice Board has entered a new phase of development, designed to further improve the service and performance that the local criminal justice system delivers to the individuals and communities of our area. This development has been promulgated by a central government desire to see greater local accountability across public services generally and, more specifically, a wish to improve engagement between the public and the criminal justice system.
In our Annual Review & Prospectus 2008, we referred to the Beacon Approach pilot programme that Cumbria had been part of, and which was directed at giving Boards greater autonomy and flexibility in delivering both national and locally determined priorities. This evolving approach to business is, in part at least, a reflection of the value that Criminal Justice Boards have been able to add since their formation in early 2003. Roll-out of the approach across the whole country is well underway and its principles are firmly embedded in the way we work here in Cumbria.
We are now twelve months into the government's current three-year national criminal justice strategic plan. Called 'Working Together to Cut Crime and Deliver Justice', it is based on a vision for a criminal justice system which by 2011:
- Is more effective in bringing offences to justice, especially serious offences;
- Engages the public and inspires confidence;
- Puts the needs of victims at its heart;
- Uses simple and efficient processes.
We have, in effect, been working towards these broad objectives for some time. For example, the 'Simple, Speedy, Summary Justice' project, which has significantly reduced the average time taken to progress routine adult cases through magistrates' courts, has been extended to cover youth offending. More recently, the 'Streamlined Process' project has brought further efficiency and opportunity for cost savings through the implementation of proportionate file building for case prosecution purposes. Whilst continuing to look for ways to make processes more efficient, we will always ensure that work remains effective in bringing offenders properly to justice.
The implementation of Specialist Domestic Violence Courts is one way in which we are seeking to improve the experience and satisfaction of victims with the criminal justice system. These Courts, and the associated case procedures, involve the use of specially trained staff from a number of agencies. They are able to offer better, targeted support to victims and witnesses as the case develops, and increase the likelihood of successful prosecutions.
Every area of Cumbria now has a dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Team, made up of police officers, police staff, police community support officers, special constables and volunteers. Neighbourhood Policing is based upon intelligence-led targeting of the issues that matter most to local people, followed by joint action to address these issues by the police, partner agencies and the public themselves. It is now underpinned by the 'Policing Pledge', a set of service standards that the public can expect from their local police force.
Neighbourhood Policing is one form of community engagement that increases public involvement and empowerment. Over the next couple of years, one of the priorities of the wider criminal justice system in Cumbria will be to improve community engagement, through better information, appropriate consultation on justice issues, promoting the opportunities for volunteering within the criminal justice system and, where possible, giving people a say in how things are done.
In many areas of criminal justice work, we have much to be proud of in Cumbria. The Board itself, agencies and individuals from the county are regularly called upon to contribute to national projects or are used as examples of good practice. However, there remain plenty of challenges ahead of us, but I am confident that the Board and its member agencies are ready to meet them.
Claire Lindley
Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Cumbria &
Chair of Cumbria Criminal Justice Board
June 2009
PO Box 152
Penrith
Cumbria
CA10 2YE
E-mail address: ccjbenquiries@cumbria.police.uk