Current initiatives
Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary (CJSSS) – update for August 2008
CRIMINAL Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary (CJSSS) has been operating in Wiltshire since the start of 2008.
CJSSS is primarily about improving the speed and effectiveness of Magistrates’ and Youth Courts and has two main targets:
- To reduce the number of hearings from an average of five or six to just one for guilty pleas and two for contested cases; and
- To reduce the average time taken from charge to disposal to six weeks or less.
These improvements are being introduced into every Magistrates' Court in England and Wales throughout 2007/08.
CJSSS will be implemented in Wiltshire’s Youth Courts in the autumn.
Thanks to CJSSS, we are already seeing significant improvements in all aspects of the Criminal Justice System from improved relationships between the criminal justice agencies to the improved management of cases.
Witness Charter – update for August 2008
WORK will begin shortly in Wiltshire to implement a set of guidelines that aim to reinforce the Government’s commitment to put victims and witnesses at the heart of the criminal justice system.
The Witness Charter is a non-statutory set of standards (34 in total) that set out the service that all non-expert witnesses in criminal cases can expect to receive.
It is also a set of guidelines for criminal justice agencies and legal practitioners to complement the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.
It builds on the National Standards of Witness Care issued in 1996, the introduction of Witness Care Units, the roll-out of the Witness Service and the use of special measures at court for vulnerable or intimidated witnesses.
It will provide witnesses with clarity about the services they should receive from point of report and should also help ensure improved and consistent services from all criminal justice agencies.
It also clearly sets out for practitioners the operational standards of care expected of them.
The current version of the Charter is at present being implemented in 10 Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) which have Beacon status.
The Beacon Approach is a new way of managing the criminal justice reform programme nationally and of delivering sustainable improvements locally.
The Charter is being implemented in this phased way so that the impact it has on Criminal Justice System (CJS) agencies can be assessed.
Also, this will see if it is necessary to further fine-tune the standards to ensure they are absolutely clear to agencies and to witnesses.
The remaining 32 LCJBS are being asked to implement the Charter during the period until March 2009, with the aim that all areas have commenced implementation by the end of March 2009.
The Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) is working with Wiltshire Crown Prosecution Service to prepare an implementation timetable.
OCJR has also produced operational guidance for each agency on what the Charter means to them and how they can implement and monitor the Charter. The guidance draws on the experience of the 10 Beacon LCJBs.