Local criminal justice boards have succeeding in cutting the number of ineffective trials by more than one-third, research has shown.

Figures released by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform - which reports to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Home Office and the Attorney-General - show that the number of ineffective trials has fallen from 12,500 between 2001-2002 to 8,000 in the year ending September 2004 since the creation of the 42 regional boards.


Some 97,000 more offences have been brought to justice since 2002, a jump of 10%.


The main cause of ineffective trials is witnesses failing to turn up at court, the study showed. This is being tackled through witness care units, which also crack down on defendants who do not turn up at court. Other initiatives such as the charging scheme and the effective trial management programme have also helped, the study found.


Office chief executive Moira Wallace said Britain's crime system has been guilty of lagging behind other public services. 'It is clear from the figure published today that this is changing,' she said.


Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, welcomed the joined-up working, along with other initiatives that saw more defendants and witnesses turn up in court. 'They bring together all practitioners who play a role in the process,' he added.