What we do
The Lancashire Criminal Justice Board meets once a month to review current performance against targets and to discuss initiatives that are being undertaken to improve the delivery of criminal justice in Lancashire. One meeting every quarter is utilised solely for a full performance review and for relevant actions to be assigned to sub group lead officers.
The Board also meets twice a year with the Judiciary and the Defence via its Legal Consultation Group Meeting.
The Board also has a Core Consultation Group which meets twice a year. This group consists of the Board's key partners and stakeholders, and gives them the opportunity to look at current Board performance, listen to Board initiatives and have a say on what priorities the Board should be concentrating on.
The Board also has links to the Safer Lancashire Group, chaired by County Councillor David Smith.
Sub Group meetings
The Board utilises multi-agency sub-groups, each of which supports the delivery of the Board's priority areas. Each group is chaired in the main by a Board member or officer, who reports back on progress at the quarterly performance review meeting.
Current sub groups are:
- Enforcement – Chaired by Colin Dearden, Lancashire Probation Service
- Race and Diversity – Chaired by Colleen Martin, Lancashire County Council
- Performance Management – Chaired by Chris Weigh, Lancashire Constabulary
- Victim and Witness – Chaired by Paul Holland, Her Majesty’s Prison Service
- Public Confidence – Chaired by Gill Hague, Her Majesty’s Courts Service, Lancashire and Cumbria
- Staff Confidence – Chaired by Suzanne Gordon, Legal Services Commission
The Board also has a number of additional sub groups that are addressing project areas. These include:
- Offender Management Group - Chaired by Chris Weigh, Lancashire Constabulary.
This group looks at the introduction of Offender Management Units, currently being piloted in Pennine Division and compliance with the Prolific & Priority Offender Protocol. - Community Justice Strategic Group - Chaired by Gill Hague, Her Majesty's Courts Service, Lancashire & Cumbria.
This group looks at the introduction of problem solving courts and community engagement initiatives introduced by the Courts Service.
- CJSSS (Criminal Justice Simple, Speedy, Summary Justice) - Chaired by Chris Weigh, Lancashire Constabulary
This group looks at the introduction of speedier and more effective criminal justice processes to reduce bureaucracy and increase guilty pleas and first hearing conclusions of cases.