Criminal solicitors on their guard over US-style justice

Criminal law solicitors this week gave cautious backing to government plans to move to a US-style system of local community justice and accountability, although they have warned against ignoring the voice of defence solicitors or rushing the process.

They spoke out after Home Secretary David Blunkett revealed last week that he wanted to 'empower communities and encourage active citizenship' by borrowing models used in the US.

This will include developing US-style justice centres, the likes of which have been set up by the Centre for Court Innovation in New York.

Mr Blunkett visited one of these earlier this year (see [2003] Gazette, 17 April, 4).

Mr Blunkett also backed Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith's vision of boosting the role of local senior public prosecutors, so that they are more in line with US district attorneys.

He supported a change of name for the Crown Prosecution Service to the Public Prosecution Service and called for more transparent accountability for police, including looking again at whether police authorities should be partly or entirely elected.

'The criminal justice system has to be firmly rooted in, and reflect, the community it serves to have people's trust,' Mr Blunkett said.

'While we are making good progress in improving the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system, we still have a way to go.'

Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association and chairman of the Law Society's access to justice committee, said Mr Blunkett's plans fitted in with the development of local criminal justice boards, which are aimed at joined-up working and transparency.

'The caution is that these processes, which have already begun, must be given a chance to bed down effectively,' he argued.

'Defence lawyers' voices must be heard in all this.

Mr Blunkett is trying to develop a smooth-running criminal justice engine, but he must make sure that everyone is involved, otherwise he might as well just chuck a load of sand in that engine.'

Paula Rohan