Member News
By The Bishop of Liverpool - 21st June 2011
The Bishop of Liverpool calls on the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, to provide assurances on the future of the "unique and innovative" North Liverpool Community Justice Centre.
As the Bishop of Liverpool and the Bishop of Prisons, my interest and concern for the future of the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre is very real.
Opened in 2005, the Centre combines a court with a wide range of community services for victims and offenders. Housed in a former school, the centre, based on a project in the USA, focuses on offenders making amends to the community with its judge, treatment programmes and community punishments.
The Centre is a unique initiative which brings justice into the heart of the community, tackling crimes and anti-social behaviour that affect the quality of life for people living in the local authority wards of Anfield, County, Everton and Kirkdale in North Liverpool.
The first of its kind in England and Wales, it combines the powers of the courtroom, run by Judge David Fletcher, with a range of community resources available to residents, victims and witnesses, as well as offenders. It also organises and supports activities involving local residents and in particular, young people.
The Centre has some impressive results, not least in dealing with court cases speedily. The time taken from first hearing to sentence is 26 days on average in the North Liverpool Centre, compared with a national average of 174 days and a national average target of 112 days.
Strong judicial leadership and authority are evident as a result of the continuity afforded by the single-judge model. One such example is a high guilty plea rate of 82 per cent compared with a national average of 68 per cent.
With Ken Clarke's Breaking the Cyclegreen paper about to become a white paper, it seems like an opportune time to glean some clarity on what is destined for the North Liverpool Community Justice Centre. The Centre's ethos and holistic approach to justice strikes at the very heart of Clarke's planned reforms.
Will he protect the future of this unique and innovative community justice centre, or is it destined for the same fate as many of our magistrate courts.
James Jones has been the Bishop of Liverpool since 1998 and the Bishop of Prisons since 2007.
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