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HEADLINES
Justice system stays one step ahead of the criminals
Public confidence on the rise in Kent
KCJB join the fun at Thanet Pride
Fewer crimes in Kent
Youth Crime Action Plan published
Confiscation success in Kent
Big Day Out for KCJB in Gravesend
KCJB gives vulnerable victims a voice
Justice system stays one step ahead of the criminals
A new Complex Case Unit (CCU) for the South East has opened at the Crown Prosecution Service in Maidstone. It is one of 15 across England and Wales and has been established as part of a wider programme of restructuring carried out by the CPS on a national and local level.
Nigel Pilkington is head of the South East CCU and said: ‘At the moment we are dealing with around 80 cases including serious frauds, cross border crime, illegal immigration and murders. Our dedicated unit will pool our expertise across the South East and its existence demonstrates our commitment to supporting the police and other law enforcement agencies in tackling the covert and systematic nature of serious crime.’
Nigel thinks the new unit will develop the ability of the CPS to keep apace with criminal activity and added: ‘The unit is staffed by experienced and skilled individuals and will provide a greater resilience in the South East to deal with large cases. My team will work in close consultation with the Chief Crown Prosecutors and Chief Police Officers for Kent, Sussex and Surrey in relation to the serious and complex cases from those Counties.’
The approach has already provided significant results for the team who worked with Kent Police to secure the convictions of the defendants found guilty of involvement in the Tonbridge Securitas robbery and of three men who were convicted for their involvement in an armed robbery of a Building Society in New Romney in November 2007.
(Photo: Nigel Pilkington, Head of the South East Complex Case Unit based in Maidstone)
Public Confidence on the rise in Kent
Over the last four years, criminal justice agencies in Kent have succeeded in bringing more offences to justice. A national record of performance published today (31/07/08), contained figures for agencies throughout England and Wales.
In Kent the number of offences brought to justice have increased from 24,142 in 2001-02 to 38,214. Other positive results included a significant reduction in the number of ineffective trials at Crown and Magistrates’ Courts and an increase in the amount of money confiscated through the proceeds of crime.
Kent Criminal Justice Board Chair Dave Weston is responsible for co-ordinating the work of agencies, he said:
‘It is important to celebrate our successes, particularly in bringing offences to justice. We know that public confidence in the System’s ability to bring offences to justice has increased but there is so much more we need to do to improve public confidence overall.
‘We have been set a number of important challenges by the Government over the next four years and one of those is to increase public confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the CJS which we are committed to doing.’
(Photo: KCJB Chair Dave Weston)
KCJB join the fun at Thanet Pride
The sun was shinning this July for the Kent Criminal Justice Board and the 2007 Thanet Pride event. The Pride celebrates diversity for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community in Kent and attracted thousands of people to the Margate seafront.
There was a great mix of entertainment throughout the whole day, which was rounded off by a live performance from TV’s X-Factor finalists ‘Same Difference’.
The KCJB held an information stand at the event and encouraged the public to find out more about the work we do.
Thanet Pride Organiser Kevin Grice said: ‘A Big “ Thank You” must go to all the sponsors for their generosity in supporting this second annual event and our many helpers who assist in organising Thanet PRIDE.’
(Photo: Thanet pride parade pulls into Margate seafront)
Fewer crimes in Kent
The latest Home Office Statistics have revealled that the risk of being a victim of crime has gone down in Kent. There were 15,133 fewer crimes in Kent between April 2007 and March 2008 compared to the previous year - an overall fall of 10.3 per cent.
Commenting on the figures, Assistant Chief Constable of Kent Police Gary Beautridge said: 'These latest crime figures are good news and make us more determined to improve our performance levels even further.
'It is encouraging that the number of crimes being committed continues to fall even now and we will work hard to continue to improve the reductions we've seen in the last year.'
The most serious crimes of violence dropped by nearly a quarter (23.3 per cent) or 149 offences, while there were 147 fewer wounding offences - a similar fall at 24.4 per cent. Incidents of robbery dropped by 18 per cent, a decrease of 252 offences.
To find out more about the latest British Crime Statistics you can visit the Home Office website by clicking here.
Youth Crime Action Plan published
The Government has today (15/07/08) announced that there will be more support for troubled families as part of their new Youth Crime Action Plan. There will also be even more support for victims and witnesses of crime and an expansion of family intervention programmes.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has called on parents to play their part in the plan and is offering them support as well as tougher punishments for offenders. The Government has said that they will invest £100 million in their effort to stop young people starting a life of crime.
You can read more about the Action plan and download a copy at the Home Office website, www.homeoffice.gov.uk.
Confiscation success in Kent
The South East Regional Confiscation Centre of Excellence in Dover is the best performer in England and Wales according to the latest figures for this financial year.
Between April and May 2008 the HMCS run centre has collected 103% of their target for the period and was the only area to exceed their goal.
The centre based at Dover Magistrates’ Court is responsible for confiscation orders across ten areas in the South East, including Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Thames Valley, Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Kent has one of the highest individual confiscation enforcement targets in the country at £6 million and they will also have to raise over £3 million in new confiscation orders this year. Last year £18.5 million was confiscated across the South East Region by the centre in Dover.
(Photo: The South East Regional Confiscation Unit Team, from left to right, Paula Barr, Jacquey Gledhill, Jo-Ann Monaghan, Suzanne Barnes, Rachel Stafford, Lisa Daniels, Lora Bond and Chris Stockdale.)
Big Day out for KCJB in Gravesend
The Kent Criminal Justice Board teamed up with Kent Police on July 5 for the Big Day Out in Gravesend. A stand was held between the KCJB and North Kent Police's Community Liaison Officers to promote the joined up working of the Criminal Justice System in the area.
Thousands of people attended the event over the whole weekend. At the KCJB stand there was the chance for kids to have their fingerprints taken and parents could learn more about the KCJB with information leaflets and community engagement materials.
The KCJB will be attending more community events throughout the year and the next event on the calender is the Thanet Pride in Margate on 26 July.
(Photo: KCJB Communications Officer Dan Palmer at the Big Day Out in Gravesend)
KCJB gives vulnerable victims a voice
The KCJB have launched a new Intermediary scheme that will give vulnerable people more confidence to give evidence as a victim or witness of crime.
Intermediaries are trained professionals who can provide help to people with impaired communication understand questions and communicate their answers. Anyone younger than 17 years old or whose evidence would be weakened in quality because they have a mental disorder, learning disability, physical disability or physical disorder is eligible for assistance from an intermediary.
KCJB Chair and Area Director for HM Courts Service Dave Weston said: ‘This scheme ensures vulnerable individuals have the same access to justice as everyone else. It is about encouraging people who may have witnessed or been a victim of crime to come forward and then helping them to provide evidence.
Hana Holden is an intermediary based in Kent and is a speech therapist for the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust. She said: ‘We work with vulnerable people every day and it is important they have access to services like everyone else. The primary responsibility of the intermediary is to enable complete, coherent and accurate communication to take place between a witness and court.
Intermediaries remain independent throughout the entire criminal justice process and do not change the substance of evidence that is provided at any stage.
(Photo: Speech Therapist for the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust Hana Holden.)