The Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System

This report discusses the functions and responsibilities of various agencies in the criminal justice system of the UK. It explores the roles of law enforcement agencies, the crown prosecution service, the national offender management service, the youth justice board, the ministry of justice, the office of the attorney general, the criminal case review commission, and local criminal justice partnerships. The report also highlights the effectiveness of these agencies in reducing reoffending.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
THE NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES..............................................................3
THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE...................................................................................4
THE NATIONAL OFFENDER MANAGEMENT SERVICE.......................................................5
THE YOUTH JUSTICE BOARD...................................................................................................6
THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE.......................................................................................................7
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL..................................................................................7
THE CRIMINAL CASE REVIEW COMMISSION......................................................................8
LOCAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIPS.........................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
Before delving into the functions, roles, and responsibilities of public service and related
agencies in increasing the effectiveness of the criminal justice system of the United Kingdom, it
is important for one to understand comprehensively how this criminal justice system works. The
Criminal Justice System of the United Kingdom covers both England and Wales (Trueman,
2019). It is one of the major public services that is offered by the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom Criminal Justice System comprises of various agencies departments and
organizations. All these bodies often work together to improve this system. In this collective
initiative, a lot has been achieved in the Criminal Justice system. However, the success rate from
the impact of this collective working initiative has not been 100%. This will be discussed further
in this report.
This report seeks to address the role, functions, and responsibilities of the public service and
related agencies involved in the criminal justice system while giving examples of how effective
this has been in reducing reoffending (Knowles, 2018).
The essential agencies, initiatives, and departments working in the Criminal Justice System
include:
 The National Law Enforcement agencies
 The crown prosecution
 The Secret Intelligence Service
 The National Offender Management Service
 The Youth Justice Board
 The Ministry of Justice
 The Office of the Attorney General
 The Criminal Case Review
 Local Criminal Justice Partnerships
THE NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
Law enforcement is organized differently according to different jurisdiction in the United
Kingdom. These jurisdictions comprise of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
However, these jurisdictions share one common similarity, that is, the police force is bestowed
with the role of law enforcement. The National Crime Agency that has its jurisdiction across the
United Kingdom serves as a complement to the various police forces from Wales, Scotland,
England and Northern Ireland. A special police force was created by the Serious Organized
Crime and Police Act of 2005. These Special Forceswere however replaced by the National
Crime Agency in 2013.
I. The National Crime Agency
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The roles of the National Crime Agency include:
 Investigation and disruption of high risk and serious organized crimes
 Enhancement of the intelligence picture of serious and organized crimes
 Provision of specialized skills to law enforcement
Case Study
Only created in 2013 to replace the defunct Serious Organized Crimes Agency. The National
Crime Agency as assumed the roles of other agencies such as the Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre (CEOP) and the National Policing Improvement Agency roles (BBC News,
2010).
The National Crime Agency has carried out some notable and successful operation. In 2014,
May 20 in Tottenham, United Kingdom, the National Crime Agency was involved in a shootout.
That led to the arrest of two persons who were later charged with attempted murder and being in
possession of firearms with the intention of endangering the lives of others. These arrests were
made by the National Crimes Agency. Moreover, when the police arrived at the crime scene a
third person was arrested for being in legal possession of firearms (London Live, 2014).
.Relationship with other agencies
Relationship with the legislature. The police force is tasked with the enforcement of the laws
passed by the legislature. The legislature is at the center of making laws related to the Criminal
Justice System. An example of such a law is the Criminal Law Act of 1977 which as an
amendment to the law regarding criminal conspiracy. This act was also an amendment to the
various acts of parliament such as the Criminal Law Act of 1977 and the Legal Aid Act of 1974.
All these acts of parliament were aimed at impacting the Criminal Justice System thus it is
necessary for the police to enforce them by arresting those who go against these laws.
Relationship with Courts System. It is the role of law enforcement agencies to make arrests
and carry out investigations that are necessary for the delivery and administration of justice. The
police are also tasked with the responsibility to testify before courts during criminal trials.
THE CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
This is an independent office led by the direction of public prosecution. Its main role is to
prosecute criminally related matters that have been investigated by the police and other
organizations which are mandated to carry out investigations. However, the Crown Prosecution
is at liberty to pick which case to pursue and which case not to.
The mandate of the Crown Prosecution Service is based on the principle of legality (Paul Schiff
Berman 2012). The principle of legality states that when prosecuting it should be done within the
law: no person should be prosecuted for what they have not done (Meagher & Groves, 2016).
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The roles of the Crown Prosecution Service are broken down into the following three major
functions:
 Deciding the cases to prosecute
 Determining the appropriate charges to be preferred on an individual and the possible
punishment befitting the charges
 Preparing and presenting cases before the court
 Providing the necessary information, support, and aid to the prosecution witnesses and
victims
The conduct of the prosecutors working with the Crown Prosecution Service is guided by the
Code for Crown prosecutors. This is a document that is issued by the Director of Public
Prosecutions in accordance with section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.
Case Study
The crown prosecution has prosecuted over 533,000 as of May 2018 (Cps.gov.uk, 2019). This
shows how effective it is in ensuring offenders are brought to book and sentenced accordingly.
The Crown Prosecution helps in reducing reoffending through retribution and deterrence by
punishing and locking in offenders. It has also partnered with the Local Criminal Partnership
Service, to help in the reduction of reoffending and offending. Also they are focused on
improving the services offered to the victims of crimes and the witnesses.
THE NATIONAL OFFENDER MANAGEMENT SERVICE
The National Offender Management Service comprises of prisons and probation services. This
agency works under the Ministry of Justice. It is charged with correctional services in both
Wales and England. The functions of this agency include:
 the management of prisons and probation services
 the rehabilitation of ex-inmates
 the prevention of people from committing offences
 Offering of aid during prisoners transfers by offering special escort as and in the use of
electronic tags. This is important because it prevents the escape of prisoners
The main objective of this agency is to reduce re-offending and supporting the Justice system.
The National Offender Management has been able to reduce re-offending, that is, the
commission of a further offence by a person who has already committed an earlier offence,
through offering various training services to the prisoners. Such training involves skills, crafting
et cetera. The persons in custody also enjoy privileges such as health and education.
It is important to note that the success of NOMS is achieved through partnerships with agencies
such as the Youth Offending Teams, courts, the police force, and other relevant agencies.
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According to The National Offender Management Service Annual Reports and Accounts 2016-
2017annual report from NOMS has indicated the various achievements made and the challenges
they seek to address. Some of the key and notable challenges they set out to address included:
 the rising number in the death of those in prisons
 the rising levels of assaults in prisons
 the use of cell phones in the prisons without approval
THE YOUTH JUSTICE BOARD
It is without a doubt that the youth are involved in criminal activities more often than not. There
are several predisposing factors that lead to the youth committing offences (Muncie, 2014).
According to the youth annual statistics for the year ending March 2018 on youth justice
published early this year, it is evident that progress has been made in matters relating to the
youth and crime.
Case Study
This report would like to draw your attention to the following key issues from the published
statistics.
First, this report would like to focus on the areas where an increase was reported from the
previous years:
 The number of children who were involved in committing crimes while using offensive
weapons has increased. This is one of the crimes that continue to be on the rise year by
year. A total of 4500 cases were reported related to children using offensive weapons
according to the offensive weapons act 1996.
 The second increase in was noticed in the length of custodial sentencing. Formerly the
duration for custodial sentencing was averagely and slightly above 11 months currently
the number has increased to averagely 16 months. This change was recorded in the past
years.
 The number of children being held in custody has increased.
However, despite the increase in the number of children held in youth remand and the number of
children involved in crimes and in possession of offensive weapons, there has been good
progress registered in the following areas:
 A decrease in the number of reoffending caused by either children or the youth.
 The number of persons entered into the Youth Justice System has dropped by
approximately 84% compared to the previous years (Youth Justice Statistics 2017/18,
2019).
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THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
This is a major and key department in the Criminal Justice System in the United Kingdom. This
department is accountable in the following areas:
The Courts
The courts are essential in the criminal justice system. It is important to note that there are
criminal courts that are distinct from civil and family courts. In this report, we will focus more
on the criminal courts. The lowest court in the criminal justice system is the magistrates' court. It
is important to note that not all criminal cases start at the magistrate courts. Depending on the
weight of the offense some cases will be referred to the Crowns court. If dissatisfaction arises
from the findings of the Crown courts, an appeal is filed at the High Court, then the Court of
appeal and finally the Supreme Court.
The Prisons
There are various prisons categorized and built depending on various factors. These factors
include the likelihood of escape and the types of criminals being held in custody. The prisons are
distinguished by letters A-D. The three determining factors as to the categorization of prisons
comprise of:
 how one is likely to escape
 the safety of the other prisoners and prison staff
The ministry of justice is committed to ensuring that the prisons are more of rehabilitative in
nature than being an institution that hardens criminals. The rehabilitation is to prevent re-
offending.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice has come up with a strategic plan to ensure that there is no
drugs and substance abuse in the prisons (Ministry of Justice, 2019)
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
This is the office of the chief legal advisor to the state. This office works with the following
agencies in the administration of justice and discharge of its services.
These agencies include:
 The Crown Prosecution Service
 The Government Legal Department
 Her Majesty Crown Prosecution Inspectorate
Role of the Office of the Attorney General in Criminal Justice
The office of the AG performs a supervisory role on other agencies such as the crown
prosecution services led by the Director of Public Prosecution. Moreover, the Attorney General
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oversee the inspection on cases under prosecution. This implies that the office of the AG
oversees the functions of Her Majesty Crown Prosecution Inspectorate.
This department is at liberty to review sentencing. Such sentencing may be too low or lenient
compared to the crime committed. This is only possible when an application is made to this
office within 28 days.
The office of the Attorney General has jurisdiction over matters related to contempt of court
(Contempt of Court Act 1981).
Furthermore, the AG is entrusted with the responsibility of petitioning the court against the
admission of cases that are filed by vexatious litigants. These are cases that do not hold and are
unnecessarily brought before a court. This is a good gesture as it helps in reducing the caseload
thus helping in the speedy expedition of cases.
There are matters that require the consent from the Office of the Attorney General in order for
the Crown Prosecution Service to proceed with the prosecution (Office of the Attorney General,
2019).
THE CRIMINAL CASE REVIEW COMMISSION
This commission was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. The
commission boasts of a success rate of 96% this is due to the fact that about 23,804 cases that
were referred to them have been completed out of the 24,658
Case Study
This commission is in a position to achieve much. However, it continues to receive inadequate
funding from the government which makes it difficult for the commission to carry out its
mandate effectively. This funding has also affected it in terms of the number of cases covered
and referred for appeal and the human resource that is necessary to ensure the perfect execution
of the mandate (Robins, 2018)
LOCAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIPS
There is need to make the criminal justice system more effective and more efficient. However,
over the past few years it has been discovered that in order to achieve this there is a need to
create partnerships between the various key players in the criminal justice system.
Total independence of institutions and agencies such as the police, the courts, and the Crown
Prosecution Services serves to hinder the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. These
partnerships can only achieve their sole purpose if they are done at the right time. This means
that full time partnerships are not necessary. The work must be done collectively and priorities
shared. These partnerships involve, HIMC, HIMCPSI and HMI Probation.
Case Studies
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Impact
According to a report given by Criminal Justice Joint Inspection has shown that there is no clear
evidence as to the positive impact that these partnerships have made in the criminal justice
system.
Disappointingly, there are no frameworks that have been agreed on to help with assessment of
performance and management. This makes it difficult to quantify the much done by the Local
Criminal Justice Partnerships. Therefore, it is difficult to gauge the impact they have created.
Roles
 To make the Criminal Justice System more efficient and effectiveness through
partnerships
 To reform the Criminal Justice System
 To come up with ways to help vulnerable victims that have long being ignored in the
current Criminal Justice System
 To bring an end to silo working which involves the independence of the key players in
the Criminal Justice System
Structure
This is one of the major issues that are preventing the Local Criminal Justice System from
working effectively. The various partners involved have various structures that enable them
execute their mandates, like the police is devolved. Regardless of this devolution the police are
still held accountable at national level by other state agencies like the Crown Prosecution
Service. This has reduced the work of the police at local to just reducing crime which has
affected the partnerships since they not only involve the fighting or reducing of crime but also
the welfare of those in the society.
Reducing offending and reoffending. Local Justice Partnerships such as the Cleveland and
Durham Local Criminal Justice has been working to ensure that offending and reoffending drops
in the community. They are striving to achieve this through partnering with teams like:
 Victim Care Advice Service
 The Legal Aid Agency
 HM Prison & Probation Service
 Crown Prosecution Service
These partnerships has enabled Cleveland and Durham Local Criminal Justice system to carry
out the following in order to reduce reoffending.
 Focusing on creating employment. Most people indulge in crime in order to earn quick
money.
 Strengthening the emotional and physical health
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 Emphasizing the importance of the family in reducing crime and reoffending. This is
because the family is the basic component that influences how one turns out
 Examining the trend in offending and reoffending through the collection of data. This
helps in coming up with solutions to address the rise and the possible causal actors.
Victims and Witnesses. More often the CJS has sidelined the victims of offending. However
these local partnerships draw a focus on the victims and witnesses of crime. Their main focus is
to improve the services offered to them.
Challenges/ Limitations
These partnerships are faced by continued change in the geographical boundaries that affects
their jurisdiction within which they are allowed to operate. This remains beyond the control of
the members of the LCSJ
The National agencies sometimes carry out functions while ignoring the Local Criminal Justice
System. It is important to note that the involvement of LCJS is crucial in order to avoid long
term negative consequences.
CONCLUSION
It is important to note that in this Criminal Justice System it is important for the various key
players, agencies, public service providers and various departments to work together. This report
has shown the inter-dependence and how complimentary these stakeholders are.
RECOMMENDATIONS
There is a need to increase the funding of these agencies like the Criminal Case Review
Commission to increase its efficiency.
It is necessary that the criminal justice system be made fair and accessible to all
The prisons should be built and equipped in such a way that it rehabilitates the prisoners and not
hardening them.
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REFERENCES
Books, Journals, Reports and, Articles
Berman, P. S. (2012), Global Legal Pluralism: A Jurisprudence of Law beyond Boarders.
Cambridge University Press
Meagher, D. and Groves, M. (2016). The Common Law Principle of Legality and Secondary
Legislation. UNSW Journal Volume 39(2)
Robins, J., (2018). The Law is Broken. New Law Journal. 168(7792)
Knowles, E. (2018) Overview of the Social Care Sector.
Muncie, J. (2014) Youth and Crime (4th edition), SAGE.
The National Offender Management Service Annual Reports and Accounts 2016-2017
(2017). Available from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/noms-annual-report-
and-accounts-2016-2017[Accessed 20 April 2019]
Youth Justice Statistics 2017/18(2019). Available
from:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2017-to-
2018[Accessed 20 April 2019]
Legislations and Statutory Laws
The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005
The Police Act 1996
Administration of Justice Act 1973
Legal Aid Act 1974.
Prosecution of Offences Act 1985
The contempt of court act 1981
Intelligence Service Act 1994
Offensive Weapons Act 1996
Criminal Law Act 1977
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Legal Aid Act of 1974
E-Resources
Trueman, C.N., 2019, 'The Criminal Justice System' Accessed 20 April 2019 at 1333 from
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/crime-and-deviance/the-criminal-justice-
system. The History Learning Site.
London Live. (2014). Investigation launched after shootout between NCA and civilians.
[Online] Available at: https://www.londonlive.co.uk/news/investigation-launched-after-
shoot-out-between-nca-and-civilians [Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
Press Releases
Cps.gov.uk. (2019). How cases are prosecuted in the CPS: From charge to conviction - a case
study | The Crown Prosecution Service. [Online] Available at:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/how-cases-are-prosecuted-cps-charge-conviction-case-
study [Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
Ministry of Justice, (2019). [Online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prison-drugs-strategy-unveiled [Accessed 20 Apr.
2019].
Office of the Attorney General, (2019).[Online] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consent-of-the-attorney-general-to-prosecute-how-to-apply
[Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
The Criminal Procedure Rule Committee, (2019). [Online] Available at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure- rules/criminal/docs/criminal-procedure-rules-
and-criminal-practice-directions-complete-edition. [Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
BBC News, (2019). [Online]Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47855428
[Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
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