The politics of blame

As the Home Secretary leans on the police, and the police snipe at defence lawyers, Jeremy Summers discusses the future of criminal justice

Home Secretary David Blunkett has served notice on the Metropolitan Police that unless it improves its performance within six months, external managers will be brought in to do the job for them.Understandably, one of the points raised in response by the police was that its primary role is the arrest and detention of criminals.

Therefore, the fact that Britain has Europe's highest prison population is, the police assert, hardly consistent with not achieving that aim.The pressures exerted by the competing imperatives that the police must work around were highlighted this week.

Despite Mr Blunkett's rejoinder to get criminals off the streets, the Court of Appeal, in R v Kefford, 5 March 2002, has given a ruling that imprisonment should only be imposed when necessary and then for no longer than necessary.

The judgment records that the latest prison figure is 69,892, some 2000 more than the forecast for November 2001.

As the prison population in 1990 was only about 45,000 and falling, this again would seem to support the proposition that the police forces are not exactly slacking in the execution of their primary role.As if to rub salt in the wound, an insurance company has begun litigation using 19th-century legislation to recover the costs of damage to an asylum centre for which the police were not responsible.

If the claim succeeds, the force stands to lose a substantial part of its annual operating budget.Against this backdrop, it was perhaps not surprising that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens, launched an attack on the 'appalling' criminal justice system.

Perhaps mindful of not alienating his political masters too much, he has directed much of his attack against criminal defence practitioners.

Whatever pressure the police feel, to offlay all the perceived evils of the criminal justice system on to defence lawyers is not realistic.

It is also unlikely to advance the debate as to the law enforcement system we want for the future.Criminal lawyers do no more than ensure that the rights of their clients are protected and convictions are made in accordance with the law.Increased police resources have had a dramatic effect on the crime statistics in New York.

The real issue in this country is funding, and that nettle has yet to be grasped.

The government, perhaps sensitive from the events of recent weeks, made an immediate response to Sir John's remarks.

Within hours of his speech, Home Office Minister Keith Bradley was hotfooting between television studios to declare that he welcomed Sir John's input to the consultation process.

He went on to state that the government is committed to a radical reform of the criminal justice system.

However, the government's words do not match its actions.

Despite the obvious concerns over the rising levels of violent crime in particular, the government has not considered that political expediency requires that the white paper is given Parliamentary priority over the Fox Hunting Bill.No one involved in criminal justice can want a return to the days when years of prosecutions were successfully challenged following cases where miscarriages of justice were found.

It is in this context that the role of the criminal defence practitioner is vital.Doubtless, it could be said that one of the factors that led to those miscarriages was the pressure the police were under to obtain results.

Therefore, it would be unfortunate if one of the consequences of Mr Blunkett's initiatives were to replicate that level of pressure.Criminal justice is a tricky game.

Time will tell whether Mr Blunkett, like many of his predecessors, will discover that arbitrarily changing the rules does not necessarily lead to a better quality of play.Jeremy Summers is a solicitor in the criminal and investigations department at London-based law firm Russell Jones and Walker