Crimes must be properly investigated, criminals properly punished and the public properly protected
If you commit a crime or game the justice system you must face the consequences
OUR country’s greatness stems from our deep-rooted sense of justice and fair play, and our justice system is among the oldest and most sophisticated in the world.
As Lord Chancellor, I want people to have confidence in their justice system. I want victims to know they are safe and criminals to know that they will not game the system.
The only way to instil that belief is by ensuring crimes are properly investigated, criminals are appropriately punished and prisoners are less likely to offend when they are freed.
Throughout that whole process, it is crucial that those who have been wronged are given the opportunity to have their say about the impact it has had on their lives.
And they must also be afforded the option of being regularly updated with the details of how their case is developing through the system.
It is true that many crime victims will spend their lives attempting to erase the memory of what happened to them.
But there are also many who take great comfort from being given timely information about how the person that harmed them is being managed by the authorities.
It is clear to me that in the case of the serial sex attacker John Worboys, not all victims were covered by the current arrangements for contacting them and so were denied that comfort.
The fact that some who had asked to be informed of the Parole Board’s decision first learned the news from the media shows we can and must improve the process. That is exactly why my predecessor launched a review looking at the need for greater transparency in Parole Board decisions and how victims are engaged in that process.
And on my first day on the job I announced we would take that review forward at pace.
I will put victims’ concerns at the very centre of any changes that need to be made.
This is one of the important issues I have been examining in my first few days in the job, but there are many more challenges I want to tackle.
The safety of those within our prisons — the dedicated, hard-working staff and the offenders they look after — is a significant matter that must be addressed head on.
Boosting the number of frontline prison officers is a key part of our strategy on this and we are now very close to fulfilling our target of bringing in 2,500 additional officers. We are also giving those officers the tools and equipment to deal with drugs, drones and mobile phones in prisons by ploughing more than £3million into handheld mobile phone detectors, body-worn cameras and new “police-style” handcuffs and restraints.
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Behind the scenes we are targeting the organised crime gangs that are driving this illegal trade behind bars by investing £14million a year — more money than ever before — into our intelligence and search capabilities.
That means we can better assess information that is gleaned from inside and outside prison walls and build stronger cases against those who are determined to cause harm.
I’ve seen this newspaper’s reporting on some of these issues and I am clear that prisons are there first and foremost to protect the public and to punish and rehabilitate offenders.
Those who commit crime must face the consequence of their actions and those who game the system by committing more crime behind bars or by boasting about their time in prison should face the full force of the law.