Woolf: prosecution and defence should collaborate

COMMUNITY JUSTICE: sentences for minor offences targeted

Prosecution and defence solicitors need to work more closely together to ensure punishments are tailored to meet the individual needs of the criminal in each case, the Lord Chief Justice said this week.

Lord Woolf's comments could signal the beginning of the end for an adversarial approach in the trials of minor, drug or antisocial behaviour-related offences.

Speaking at a conference arranged to thrash out the details of a pilot community justice centre, Lord Woolf praised the work of New York's Red Hook Community Court and its judge Alex Calabrese.

'Both the lawyer for the prosecution and the defence collaborate with Judge Calabrese in the interests of the offender and the community,' he said.

'I believe the same thing should happen here - the adversarial approach is appropriate when dealing with serious offences but may not be appropriate for minor offences.'

Mr Calabrese said Red Hook's approach can include counselling with a prison sentence 'hanging over' the defendant if he or she fails to finish the rehabilitation process.

Individual sentencing has helped cut reoffending rates, he added.

Rodney Warren, chairman of the Law Society's access to justice committee, and director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, welcomed the moves, but warned the new system must not be 'piloted on a shoestring.

It is fundamentally important to make sure that [the centres] have enough finance so that they will work'.

A Law Society spokeswoman also welcomed community justice centres, but added essential protections for defendants must be safeguarded.

'We urge the government to learn from the mistakes made during the expensive night courts pilot and to allow for adequate checks on proposed reforms to ensure they are relevant and workable,' she said.

Chris Baker