Source: (2002) Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General by Command of Her Majesty. July 2002. CJS Online.
This White Paper presents a wide-ranging program of reform for the criminal justice system in England and Wales. The program of reform is oriented around a single priority: to rebalance the criminal justice system in favor of the victim and the community so as to reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice. Five practical steps are detailed in this White Paper to pursue that priority: (1) reduction of offending while on bail; (2) construction of strong cases to put before the court; (3) implementation of new procedures to bring a case to trial quickly, with reduction of procedural manipulation by a defendant; (4) simplification and modernization of the approach to evidence; and (5) development of effective sentencing and punishment that works. Chapters in the Paper deal with the following: the need for reform; improving the criminal justice system for victims, witnesses, and communities; getting the criminal justice process right from the start; delivering justice through fairer, more effective trials; reforming sentencing policy and practices; punishment and rehabilitation; enhancing the public’s engagement in the criminal justice system; and focusing the criminal justice system to fight and reduce crime and deliver justice.
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