Criminal justice 'needs overhaul'

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Fundamental changes to policing and criminal justice are needed because Britain has become a nation of "passive bystanders", a think-tank has said.

In order to move away from the current "centralised and technocratic" system of what it calls "Robocop justice", Reform argued on Tuesday for the introduction of local justice commissioners, community police boxes and regionalised criminal justice policies.

The group wants to see an "information revolution", with televised court proceedings and prison activities, detailed crime mapping and online offender databases.

It is also calling for the introduction of a National Bureau of Investigation to tackle serious nationwide crime, and innovative policing including the use of more volunteers and specialist "hit squads" to deal with pressing issues.

Reform said Britain has the most expensive criminal justice system in the world but that over-centralisation is failing to deliver results.

It also claimed the "have a go hero" is an increasing rarity, with Britons the least likely in Europe to intervene when a crime is taking place.

And it argued that crime has been "nationalised and politicised" to such an extent a myth has developed that the home secretary and even the prime minister is responsible for every assault.

The authors wrote: "Britain's 'Robocop' criminal justice system is a one-size-fits-all-system, where human judgment and engagement has been replaced by bureaucratic process and where the machine has gained a momentum of its own.

"The result has been a removal of autonomy from localities and the criminal justice profession, resulting in a 'policing by numbers' approach with perverse incentives and poor results.

"Thus, the additional funds put in to the service have failed to deliver the improvements that they should have done."

They added: "The result is a criminal justice system without a human face - bureaucratic, technocratic and machine-like.

"If the face of British criminal justice was once George Dixon of Dock Green, the new face might be the Robocop of Detroit's fictional future."

Counting 33 "tough on crime" initiatives between June 2001 and May 2003, the authors called on politicians to avoid building policy around rhetoric that is perceived to be vote-winning.

Describing an "unhappy equilibrium" of individual disengagement and increased government responsibility, the report said international comparisons show strong local accountability is critical to effective criminal justice.

As a result, it calls for two key areas of reform: a "cultural change" involving drastic alterations to the amount of information provided to citizens about crime; and a localised criminal justice system which is "properly accountable".

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "This report is a shocking indictment of the state of law and order under Labour and clearly demonstrates how they have managed to achieve the worst of all worlds.

"The police and public are completely disengaged and we are paying through the nose for the privilege."

In a joint statement, Home Office minister Tony McNulty and justice minister David Hanson said: "Since 1997, crime has fallen by a third - and the way criminals are dealt with by the justice system has been transformed.

"The government's approach to law and order has made our communities safer and supported victims and witnesses."