CJS working together for the public

 The Criminal Justice System Strategic Plan (2008 - 2011) - a local say in delivering justice

15 Nov 2007

The Criminal Justice System Strategic Plan (2008-2011) – which is being published today – outlines the Government’s vision for further improving the way the system works and ensuring that it does more to reduce crime and re-offending. The plan sets out commitments for all the criminal justice agencies to work together to:

• Be more effective in bringing offences to justice;
• Engage the public and inspire confidence;
• Put the needs of victims at its heart; and
• Have simple and efficient processes.

Each of these commitments is backed up by targets which will enable the public to see the progress being made by services in their own area.  These include targets to:

• improve effectiveness and efficiency of the CJS in bringing offences to justice;
  increase public confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of the CJS;
• increase victim satisfaction with the police and victim and witness satisfaction with the CJS;
• ensure consistent collection, analysis and use of good quality ethnicity data to identify and address race disproportionality in the CJS;
• increase recovery of criminal assets; and
• improve compliance and enforcement of the orders of the court.

The Plan means that local criminal justice boards – which bring together police, prosecution, courts, probation, prison and youth justice services – will be required to put more focus on tackling more serious crime, focusing on reducing re-offending and addressing the priorities identified by local communities.  At the same time, they will be given greater freedom to design and implement improvements in the system which make sense locally.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw said:

“The Government is committed to reducing crime and the agencies which comprise the Criminal Justice System have shown that, by working together, they can improve services for victims and witnesses, bring more offences to justice and crack down on those who flout the orders of the courts. We are determined to build on the success of recent years by challenging local boards to go further and giving them the freedom and support they need to tailor their work to local priorities. An area of critical importance is the work needed to tackle re-offending and the Criminal Justice System needs the help of local organisations and communities to make a difference”.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith welcomed the launch of the Strategic Plan today, saying:

“Our job is to ensure that people are free to get on with their lives without fear of danger or harm from crime.  By giving police and other local partners greater flexibility to focus on local priorities, we can continue to drive down crime and make our communities safer. With the roll-out of neighbourhood policing now almost complete, people across the country are seeing greater numbers of police on the streets, making them safer and making them feel safer.”

Attorney General Baroness Scotland said:

“I am particularly pleased that this Strategic Plan puts the needs of victims and their families first and will ensure more effective targeting of the sexual and violent crime that is of such concern in society.  At the same time, it will enable local areas to respond more effectively to their communities and focus resources where they are needed on the underlying causes of much crime, such as mental health, drug misuse and social exclusion.”

The plan builds on the successes of investment in tackling crime which has seen crimes that affect most people down by 44% since 1995, representing a total of 8.4 million fewer crimes.  It sets out key progress to date, for example, in bringing offences to justice, improving services to victims and witnesses, and recovering criminal assets.  It details how resources for the next three years, announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review in October, will be targeted and prioritised and sets out the key programmes that will support delivery of the new Public Service Agreement target for Criminal Justice.

Notes for Editors

1. The Criminal Justice Strategic Plan for 2008 – 2011 was published by the
   Stationary Office and is available online at www.cjsonline.gov.uk and
   www.justice.gov.uk
   
2. The Plan was published today (Thursday 15 November), with a Written
   Ministerial Statement in Parliament, by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of
   State for Justice and the Attorney General on behalf of the three Criminal
   Justice Departments: the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Attorney
   General’s Office.
   
3. For further information, media may contact press offices
   at Home Office on 020 7035 3535; Ministry of Justice on 020 7210 8722;
   Attorney General’s Office on 020 7271 2465.