Current Initiatives
- Prolific and Priority Offenders
- Criminal Case Management Programme
- Statutory Charging
- Effective Trial Management Programme
- No Witness, No Justice
- Criminal Justice IT (CJIT)
Prolific and Priority Offenders
This is a new scheme introduced by the Government on the 6th September 2004 to replace the previous ‘Persistent Offenders’ scheme.
The Persistent Offenders Scheme focused on a core group of offenders committing a disproportionate level of crime. They were defined as ‘An offender over the age of 18 years who has been convicted of 6 recordable offences within the previous 12 months’. However, the criteria used to define this group created limitations and difficulties such as:
- Persistent Offenders tend to be those who commit offences towards the lower end of the scale, such as shoplifting.
- As a result they tend to receive shorter sentences which do not attract any post sentence intervention.
- The subject group was just too large to effectively manage.
- As at February 2004 there were 37,453 current core Persistent Offenders. This means that crime reduction and the rehabilitation of offenders have never been satisfactorily realised.
Prolific and Priority Offenders are defined as those who: ‘Pose the greatest threat to the safety and confidence of their local communities’
Prolific and Priority Offenders are identified through intelligence rather than previous convictions. The Home Office suggested criteria for selection is:
- The nature and volume of crimes committed
- The nature and volume of other harm they are causing (by virtue of gang leadership or anti-social behavior)
- Other local criteria based on the impact on local communities
There are three phases to this new scheme. As yet we do not have dates set for the implementation of each phase. They are as follows:
- Catch and Convict
- Prevent and Deter
- Rehabilitate and Resettle
This new target group is considerably smaller then the previous ‘Persistent Offender’ group equating to 5,000 to 7,000 offenders nationally. For Hertfordshire, this means focus on 150 to 200 individuals (a number of whom may be serving prison sentences at any given time).
This new strategy places great emphasis on breaking the cycle of offending and preventing young people from progressing to prolific offending status.
Due to the obvious partnership implications in delivering such objectives, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP’s) are placed at the heart of the new strategy. CDRP’s, Drug Action Teams and the HCJB will work closely together in their approach to this strategy.
Criminal Case Management Programme
The Criminal Case Management Programme (CCMP) comprises of 3 key components, Statutory Charging, Effective Trial Management Programme (ETMP) and "No Witness, No Justice". Each strand involves a radical reform in the way we currently deliver Criminal Justice from arrest to sentence, aswell as interacting with each other in order to:
Build stronger cases
Make the right charge at the start
Get the right cases to court
Give victims and witnesses better support
Secure more convictions
Statutory Charging
Statutory Charging involves building prosecution teams in order to build stronger cases and use court, police and prosecutor time more effectively. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will now be responsible for the charging decision, a role which was previously conducted by the Police. The CPS's experience in the court means that they are a lot better equipped to judge what charges are supported by the evidence. Determining the right charge at the outset is crucial to ensuring a successful prosecution.
This new early access to legal guidance should ensure that:
- Cases with little chance of success are weeded out
- Cases have the right evidence to support the charge
- Delays on court are reduced
This will mean that:
- The Police and the CPS have more time to focus on difficult cases
- More early guilty pleas are entered
- Fewer cases are discontinued
Effective Trial Management Programme
The aim of the Effective Trial Management Programme (ETMP) is to ensure cases are properly prepared and ready to go ahead on the day they are listed to be heard. This will reduce the number of Ineffective Trials. This where a trial is unable to proceed on the day that it was scheduled to start and has to be re-listed for trial on another day. This can prove costly in resources, time and effort spent on getting the cases to court and can demoralise witnesses and may discourage them from attending at a later date.
The programme will work to incorporate key CJS agencies such as the CPS, Police. Magistrates and Crown Courts aswell as members of the Judiciary and the Defence, to actively manage cases in and out of court.
ETMP aims to reduce the number of ineffective trials by improving case preparation and case progression. Steps will be taken to make sure defendants attend court when they are supposed to and action is taken if they fail to appear. If they do fail to attend, trials may proceed in their absence and they will be punished for non-attendance. Technology will also be better used to:
- Enable Police to have access to real time information on trials taking place and court decisions
- Notify Police of changes to bail conditions
- Notify Police officers by text, e-mail or pager shortly before they are required in Court, to reduce time wasted waiting to be called.
- Enable the CPS to build up and electronic case files. This will save time, increase accuracy and reduce chance of information going missing.
- Enable Courts to publish listings and results electronically
Technology will also benefit Victims and Witnesses by:
- Keeping them far better informed on the progress and outcome of their cases.
- Enabling vulnerable victims and witnesses to give evidence via a video- link rather than having to face the defendant in court
This will improve public confidence in the CJS, particularly of victims and witnesses as more cases will proceed as planned, with more information available.
No Witness, No Justice
The ‘No Witness, No Justice ‘ project aims to increase public confidence and improve the service provided to victims and witnesses.
The project recognises that Victims and Witnesses play a fundamental role in the deliverance of criminal justice. Without them, offenders would not be brought to justice and neither victims nor society would receive justice.
At present, many victims and witnesses who enter the criminal justice system do not always receive the level of information and support they need. As a result, this neglect can often lead to a withdrawal of support for the prosecution, non-attendance at court and a general dissatisfaction with the process. This leads to many failed cases and a reluctance to re- engage in the criminal justice process if required to do so in the future.
The Minimum requirements of the No Witness, No Justice project are as follows:
- Areas (St Albans, Hertford and Watford) will establish dedicated Witness Care Units to manage Victim and Witness needs from point of charge to conclusion of a case
- Victims and Witnesses will be provided with a single point of contact
- Areas will conduct a full needs assessment for all victims and witnesses
- All victims and witnesses who have attended court will be provided with outcome and sentence information in a timely fashion and and thanked for their contribution
- Areas will increase the frequency of information that is provided to victims and witnesses throughout the life of their case
The No Witness, No Justice project will be fully implemented in Hertfordshire by December 2005.
Criminal Justice IT (CJIT)
This is a long term IT project which will enable all CJS IT systems nationally and locally to link up. The project is due for completion by 2006.