After fourteen years of austerity, our public services are underfunded and too many of them are broken. This is very much the case with the criminal justice system.
Imagine telling the victim of a serious sexual assault that she may have to wait over two years from her being attacked to her case getting to court that the system is working ‘well and fair’.
Every part of the system must step up and require reform and new money, but waiting for new money is not an excuse to not reform and improve.
The Crown Prosecution Service does not have sufficient capacity to review and agree on charges when the police have arrested suspects in a timely fashion.
The Court Service faces major backlogs with over eight hundred cases pending hearings at Luton Crown Court. The magistrates’ courts also have significant delays.
Prisons are almost totally full, and this was the case before the recent fair-right riots, and the government has been forced to order the early release of prisoners.
There are inadequate rehabilitation services and offenders are routinely being released without appropriate accommodation or employment or access to addiction and mental health services. Reoffending by those coming out of custody services is far too high.
The probation service, which is vital to address reoffending and providing community services, has had a double blow of failed government ‘reform’ and massive underfunding.
Other critical services which contribute to an effective criminal justice system including NHS mental health services, public health, housing, community safety and youth offending services all have had over a decade of budget cuts.
Police funding was cut by the Coalition and Conservative governments and the recent increases in the number of police officers recruited have not kept pace with population growth.
I will continue to make the case to the Labour government for fairer and more funding for Bedfordshire Police and meanwhile will expect the Chief Constable to use the available resources efficiently and effectively.
I would expect the same stewardship of public funding from the other partners in the criminal justice system.
One of my duties as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is to chair the Bedfordshire Local Criminal Justice Board and to coordinate the partners within this complex system.
This system requires bold and radical change, as well as more resources. Much of this change will require central government to act.
It will require a very different approach to sentencing, the use of prisons as well as refocusing them towards more rehabilitation and more community sentencing.
I am greatly encouraged by Keir Starmer’s appointment of prison reformer James Timpson as the new prisons minister.
However, we must not wait for the government to act. We can submit ideas for reform to ministers. We can also act ourselves with wider civil society in Bedfordshire.
Our local authorities can ensure better housing support for ex-offenders. Local businesses can commit to employ ex-offenders. We can refocus mental health services.
We must ensure better coordination and mutual support between the various public agencies and support voluntary and community organisations working across the criminal justice system.
There is much that can be done. We must secure change, bold change as this is not the time for tinkering.
This is a monthly guest column provided by
elected Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard (Labour).
It is published unedited and does
not reflect the views of the Bedford Independent.
