WIREDGOV

Public given greater say as new crime strategy is published

HOME OFFICE News Release (086/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 12 May 2009

Local people will be able to choose how money from a £4 million criminal assets fund is spent in their area, alongside further targeted work to tackle property-related crime and a tougher approach to dealing with prolific offenders announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Justice Secretary Jack Straw today.

Speaking today at the first conference for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs), the Prime Minister unveiled the Government's updated crime strategy - Cutting Crime: Two Years On - and set out the Government's commitment to tackling the new crime challenges the country faces. The action the Government is taking will build on existing policies to prevent crime and deliver responsive, visible justice which has resulted in a fall in crime of almost 40 per cent since 1997.

The Prime Minister announced:

* A new programme tackling serious property-related crimes such as burglary, robbery and car theft. This programme will target interventions in areas where emerging problems are identified to prevent them from becoming entrenched. Operation Vigilance will include a £3 million scheme piloted in these priority areas will intensify the targeting and management of known offenders, helping police, probation and local authorities learn from what works and how to use more proactive methods to target and catch offenders.

* Stronger powers to seize criminal assets and a greater public say in how these are spent. The public will be able to have a say on how a £4 million fund of cash seized from criminals is spent in their local area. The fund will be available for local projects and will be decided by local communities using websites, neighbourhood policing meetings or citizens' panels. Powers will also be introduced to ensure criminals must prove their assets like boats and cars came from legitimate source. This comes as the first performance tables showing the value of assets seized by individual police forces are published today, showing in the value of criminals' assets seized by the police has risen from £100 million 2006/7 to more than £150 million by 2008/9.

* The first Virtual Courts pilot to ensure a speedier and more efficient justice system for all. Cases could be heard at a magistrates' court via secure video link from the police station within four hours of a defendant being charged. If successful, this could cut costs by £10 million a year, free up police and magistrates' court's time and improve the service given to victims and witnesses.

* Intensive Community Payback to be rolled out over the coming year to even more unemployed offenders where they will have to carry out demanding work for at least 18 hours a week. This will ensure a significant loss of liberty and free time for more offenders across England and Wales who must now wear branded orange jackets so that the public can see that justice is being done.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

"Since 1997 overall crime has dropped by nearly 40 per cent and we continue to deliver on our vision of communities where people feel confident to live their lives, free from fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.

"Britain is far from broken and we have acted decisively against new and difficult challenges to save lives from knife-crime and gang-related violence. We are now facing tougher economic times and I am determined, when people are feeling less secure financially, we will do everything in our power to protect their safety and security.

"That is why we're publishing an updated Crime Strategy to address those new challenges and to show the army of police and partners across the country that we keep listening and taking action. Together we will continue to build safer communities."

Operation Vigilance will initially run for one year before being reviewed and will build on partnership working between local agencies to develop new methods of tackling property crimes like burglary and theft with a view to sharing best practice on a national scale.

The virtual courts scheme enables defendants charged in a participating police station to appear in a magistrates' court via a secure video link, speeding up first hearings and so freeing up police and court resources and improving the service given to victims and witnesses. It follows a prototype study in July 2007 at Camberwell which found that the time between charge and first hearing could be cut from an average of 10 days to around four hours.

This builds on proposals in the recent Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice Green Paper to give communities more say in the way justice is delivered in their neighbourhoods. The green paper included pioneering a 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.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:

"I want people to have full confidence in the justice system, and an important part of this is ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done. People's chances of being a victim of crime are the lowest since records began in 1981 and we are determined to build on this to ensure our neighbourhoods are as safe as they can be.

"The new crime strategy published today will do just that by setting out a range of measures to help the police, probation and local authorities better tackle acquisitive crime like burglary and give people a say in how funds seized from criminals can be used to pay back local communities. We are also ensuring that even more offenders are carrying out intensive community payback as a demanding punishment to repay the wrongs they have committed as well as providing the prison capacity needed to lock up the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders.

"As well as this, I have today launched the first Virtual Courts pilot to ensure a speedier and more efficient justice system. Defendants could appear before court via a secure video link from a police station just hours after being charged and, if they plead guilty, be sentenced on the same day. This will transform the way the justice system deals with crimes, free up police time and improve the service given to victims and witnesses."
Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Adviser Louise Casey said:

"The public want to know that criminals face tough consequences for their crimes. The further roll out of intensive Community Payback as recommended in my review last year is giving the public what they want. Community Payback schemes are not only demanding, hard work but also give the public a say in what criminals must actually do to serve their punishment and pay back to local communities."

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The CDRP conference takes place at Stamford Bridge football ground today and tomorrow (12 & 13 May).

2. The serious acquisitive crime programme will see improved information sharing between police, probation and other agencies and proactive methods used by police to monitor known offenders will include naming and shaming in local media, officers stopping offenders in the street and surprise home visits. This approach has already been pioneered in West Yorkshire, Lancashire, London and Nottinghamshire and has led to a 62 per cent reduction in re-offending.

3. It will also see a Retail Crime Action Plan drawn up to tackle business crime, backed with £5 million. This is part of the £20 million announced by the Home Secretary at a burglary summit held at the Home Office on 4 February. On 7 April the Home Secretary announced how £15 million of that fund would be spent in the Securing Homes initiative.

4. The one-year virtual court pilot will initially link Charing Cross Police Station to Camberwell Green Magistrates Court with a further 14 police stations across London joining over the summer. A second pilot will run in North Kent from mid-June.

5. Virtual Courts will also be piloted at other London Police Stations including Brixton, Kennington, Streatham, Peckham, Walworth, Lewisham, Plumstead, Bromley, Croydon, South Norwood, Sutton, Paddington Green, Belgravia, Bexleyheath. An estimated 15,000 cases are expected to be dealt with using the Virtual Court during the one-year pilot. For more information on this scheme contact the Ministry of Justice newsdesk on 020 3334 3536.

6. Tables of the assets recovered force by force are available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk

7. For more information contact the Home Office Newsdesk on 020 7035 3535.