David Smith

This December representatives of the Criminal Justice Council visited Lichfield District Council to find out how the local authority and its partners are working to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour
 
Representatives from the prestigious Criminal Justice Council, which monitors and shapes how the country’s criminal justice system works, visited Lichfield District Council earlier this month. They came to hear how the council and its partners are delivering innovative approaches that are helping to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour locally, through the Local Strategic Partnership.

The Criminal Justice in Action event featured a series of case studies that illustrated how the partnership is working to prevent crime and the chances of criminals re-offending.
 
Councillor David S. Smith, Leader of Lichfield District Council, who represents local government on the Criminal Justice Council, said: “Councils, along with their partners, have a key role to play in preventing crime and anti-social behaviour locally. From using our licensing powers to create safer environments, through to providing positive activities for young people - who might otherwise get involved in criminal activity, what we do impacts the local community.  We were delighted to welcome representatives from the Criminal Justice Council. It was an opportunity to share a range of case studies on local projects, which highlight how working together locally can deliver tangible results."
 
Discussions also took place about the role of the courts and the opportunities for closer working relationships between the judiciary and local community teams. The impact of substance misuse was a key theme running throughout the event, and calls were made for more funding to be directed towards services that combat alcohol misuse.

“This was a rare, if not unique, opportunity for a wide range of policy makers, strategists and practitioners to meet and share an understanding of the local and national criminal justice landscape. To have been visited by such high profile people, who help set the national agenda on the way we fight and reduce crime, was a great compliment and shows that we are leading the way in working together to tackle this complex issue,” continued Cllr Smith.
 
The Criminal Justice System . . .
 
The purpose of the Criminal Justice System is to deliver justice for all, by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent. It is responsible for detecting crime and bringing it to justice, and carrying out the orders of court, such as collecting fines, and supervising community and custodial punishment.

The Criminal Justice Council works:
 
•            to keep the criminal justice system under review
•           to advise the Government on the form and manner of implementation of criminal justice reforms and to make proposals to it for reform
•            to advise on the framing and implementation of a communication and education strategy for the criminal justice system