Our work with Her Majesty's Courts Service

On this page:

Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary (CJSSS)
Streamlined process
Virtual court pilot
Listing practices
Prison visit survey
Prison to court video links - Northumbria

Criminal Justice: Simple, Speedy, Summary

CJSSS is implemented nationally. It has created an environment where it is expected that hearings will be effective.

We monitor efficiency through Her Majesty's Courts Service data collection exercises.

Data is shared with Local Criminal Justice Boards and the LSC, and action is taken where target timescales are not met.

CJSSS is also implemented throughout England and Wales in the youth courts.

Streamlined process

The streamlined process is the servicing of a summary of Advance Information and is being rolled out nationally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

We are working with the CPS to ensure the defence are fully engaged and their needs are taken into account.

Our peer reviewers are also involved and ensure the process is compatible with peer review. Feedback from solicitors and peer reviewers has led to adjustments to guidance.

Virtual court pilot

The virtual court pilot will be taking place across nine London boroughs, with 15 police stations participating in hearings over the video link to Camberwell Magistrates' Court.

Charing Cross police station will be the first pilot site to go live on 12 May 2009, and a scheduled roll out will follow. Piloting in north Kent is also scheduled for late June 2009.

Magistrates court listing practices

Making sure guidance is followed

The Crime Policy Team is working with Her Majesty's Courts Service nationally to ensure that listing practice follows existing guidance.

Work with local courts will follow once the national approach has been agreed.

Prison visit survey

In November 2008, we conducted an online survey that invited defence practitioners to answer questions regarding:

prison visits
prison to court video links
whether they felt the ‘Legal Visits in Prisons: Good Practice Guide’ produced in 2007 had been useful.

The 43 responses received have been analysed, and the report can be found in the documents panel. These responses will be used to determine what improvements can be made.

Prison to court video links - Northumbria

Commissioning staff in LSC South Tyneside, as part of the work on Whole Systems Reform, have been working with criminal justice system (CJS) partners within Northumbria LCJB, to make additional use of the prison court video link facility.

From Monday 6 July CJS partners will be able to make additional use of the prison court video link equipment sited at the various HMCS sites within Northumbria free of charge.

How it came about

The Maximising Prison to Court Video Links (PCVL) Project ran between August 2008-October 2008.
Northumbria was one of eight pilot areas which successfully increased usage of prison to court video links.
During the course of the pilot a number of barriers to increased usage were identified at both a national and local level.
The pilot also identified varying degrees of cashable and non-cashable benefit for each of the criminal justice organisations involved in the use of PCVL.

The Northumbria LCJB has given the approval for a second project to allow the free use of PCVL equipment across Northumbria to all CJS Agencies to improve efficiency and effectiveness across CJS Partners.

Potential costs savings of the project:

Defence solicitors can interview clients from the local magistrates’ court avoiding travel and waiting time to prison
Probation officers can interviews defendants in relation to PSR from a local magistrates’ court avoiding travel and waiting time to prison
Barristers can conduct an interview with their clients in preparation for trial from Newcastle Crown Court avoiding travel and waiting time to prison.

Benefits of video links:

Defence firms and probation officers should see improved access to defendants with almost double the time available for consultations. This should result in actual savings in travel time and time spent gaining access to prisons
Prison service should see more efficient and flexible use of visits facilities
It will enable partnership working to improve case progression and case management

Contact relationship manager Paul McArdle on 0191 428 3773 for more information on prison to court video links

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Last updated: 21 August 2009