Promoting confidence
We want Londoners to understand and have confidence in the criminal justice service (CJS) and to have their say on how things can be improved. We also want to ensure the best possible service for victims and witnesses.
The London Criminal Justice Partnership (CJP) creates opportunities for the capital’s residents to increase their understanding of the criminal justice service and be more involved in the justice process.
What we are doing:
Community Justice
Community Justice is part of the Government's agenda to tackle anti-social behaviour and the crime associated with it, making life better for everyone.
Nobody knows more about local crime than the very people who suffer its effects, along with the professionals who work locally on preventing crime. That’s why Community Justice is about getting local people, criminal justice agencies and local community services all working together to bring the justice service and community closer together, reduce crime and build public confidence in the CJS.
The London CJP has been piloting the Community Justice Court in the three London boroughs of Newham, Haringey and Wandsworth. For more information about Community Justice click here.
Community engagement
We all have a part to play when it comes to creating safer communities, whether it’s reporting a crime, coming forward as a witness, becoming a magistrate or taking up volunteering opportunities the CJS has to offer.
Through effective engagement with the public we hope to raise awareness and increase confidence in the CJS, which is crucial in our goal of increasing participation.
The London CJP is reaching out to all of the capital’s diverse communities through its community engagement project, which supports CJS agencies to carry out coordinated, local community engagement activity that responds to the needs and interests of the communities they serve. See our community engagement webpage for more information.
Inside Justice Week
Inside Justice Week is part of a national campaign which aims to improve public awareness in the CJS so that members of the public are confident to report crimes and come forward as witnesses.
Open court days, mock trials, school visits and criminal justice courses are just some of the events that took place in 2009, giving the public a chance to find out about the CJS
For more information see the Inside Justice news webpage or visit the national Inside Justice Week website.
Information for practitioners
A number of resources have also been produced to help local practitioners when organising community engagement events. View the guidance page for more information.
Engaging communities in criminal justice
Effective community engagement is key to improving public confidence in the way in which crime is tackled and justice delivered.
A range of new measures that gives communities more say in the way justice is delivered in their neighbourhoods as well as making local criminal justice agencies more accountable to the people they represent was announced in the ‘Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice’ Green Paper in April 2009.
This will include pioneering a new package of measures in 30 areas across England and Wales to test a range of initiatives that will deliver justice for all and put people back at the heart of the justice system.
These 30 areas are taken from the 60 Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Pioneer Areas announced in October 2008 following the Casey Review. In London these are Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Haringey, Islington, Barking and Dagenham, Lambeth, Waltham Forest, Greenwich and Brent.
For more information click here.