While significant effort has been made in recent years to improve efficiency in both the custody and criminal justice process, there are still a number of issues identified in past reports on this subject which continue to generate delays in processing cases.
So say Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which has made a follow up review of the criminal justice system from start to finish. For example, the arrangements for the transfer of detainees to court by private companies are not always effective and often resulted in police officers transporting detainees to court themselves. For the 32-page report in full visit – http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/stop-the-drift-2-03062013.pdf
In a joint review, HMIC, and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI), found that while significant effort has been made in recent years to improve efficiency in both the custody and criminal justice process, there are still a number of issues identified in past reports on this subject which continue to generate delays in processing cases. For example:
There are still too many people detained in police custody under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Vulnerable detainees often required one-to-one monitoring by officers – a very time-consuming process.
Children and young people denied bail following charge continue to be detained in cells rather than transferred to local authority accommodation.
A lack of holding cells and custody officers was resulting in excessive waiting times to ‘book in’ prisoners.
Obtaining results of forensic science analyses can take a long time.
Repeating mandatory drug testing for prolific offenders regularly in police detention.
Officers are still being used for escort duties when detainees are taken to hospital.
A key document for the prosecution in a case is the Police Report which should contain all the information needed to present a case to court. As part of the review 40 case files were assessed. When looking at the summary of evidence portion of the forms, Inspectors found that only three out of the 40 (7.5 per cent) were of a sufficient quality. These results are a marked decline from the findings of a similar exercise conducted in 2011.
Unnecessary bureaucracy has the effect of keeping officers at their desks when they should be out, protecting the public from harm. The effective management of information enables the police service to comply with the law, where the rights and interests of vulnerable people, suspects, victims and witnesses are protected and upheld.
Justice is better served when good quality information is passed between agencies within the CJS and much can be done to streamline the process from arrest or detention to release from the police station or disposal at court – particularly around IT.
HM Inspector of Constabulary, Drusilla Sharpling and Chief Inspector of HM Crown Prosecution Service, Michael Fuller, said: “We believe the time has come to act decisively, with renewed focus and determination to streamline the criminal justice process and banish the spectre of unnecessary bureaucracy that has been, for far too long, an impediment to progress. We hope this review provides some insights on how police officer time might be freed up while improving performance within the system.”
A copy of the full report, Stop the Drift 2: A Continuing Focus on 21st Century Criminal Justice, and the 2010 report Stop the Drift can be found at www.hmic.gov.uk.
Commenting, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on criminal justice, Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Chris Eyre said: “Despite progress over recent years, there is more that can be done to streamline the criminal justice process from arrest to outcome, to make it more cost efficient and effective for victims and witnesses.
“A key issue for police is ensuring that people are detained in the most appropriate place, whether a police cell, mental health facility or local authority accommodation. We are working closely with government and other agencies to improve availability of places of safety so we can achieve this.
“Police case files are critical in securing justice and ACPO will work with the CPS and the College of Policing to ensure officers have training, supervision and processes in place to produce high quality reports.”
