Blunkett calls for justice system to 'engage' with community

The Home Secretary has called for radical reforms to the UK criminal justice system as he pushes for a system based more on local justice and increased engagement with the community.

David Blunkett said that social order and the development of a just society must grow from the bottom up, rather then being imposed from above.

"The criminal justice system has to be firmly rooted in, and reflect, the community it serves to have people's trust," he said.

"While we are making good progress in improving the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system, we still have a way to go."

Though, in an interview given to the BBC earlier today, he warned that some of the sentences handed down to convicted criminals indicated to the public that judges were out of touch and had “lost their marbles” as he responded to a question about trust between the judiciary and politicians.

Earlier, ahead of a speech to Community Service Volunteers, Mr Blunkett suggested that local visibility of police leaders and others responsible for tackling crime and disorder should be increased.

"I am interested in exploring options for strengthening local accountability and engagement, such as whether police authorities have a directly elected element or even be entirely elected," he said.

The Home Secretary said that despite police having a highly visible role in society and communities, research showed the public had little understanding of just how the service was accountable.

"I am calling on the police, police authorities, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and others who care about policing in this country to join in the debate on how past good work can be built on to clarify and strengthen community involvement and accountability. It is difficult to engage and reassure people if they do not know who they are being policed by and how to have their say."

Mr Blunkett said that the Attorney General was looking at ways to boost the profile and widen the role of local senior public prosecutors. The goal was to generate the sort of status they have in the US, and become much more visible to the communities they serve.

The government's aim should be a society in which individuals and their families are empowered, enabled and supported to take part as active citizens, Mr Blunkett said.

He added: "In practice this means spreading assets across society, reforming the state and our public services so that they facilitate community involvement and help individuals to help themselves, and strengthening accountability and engagement with key services."

He also announced a further £4 million was to be made available to fund an Adventure Capital Fund - a new fund to support a range of projects.

And £1 million has been earmarked for a new Centre for Active Citizenship to examine future policy development.

The Centre will operate on the basis of a consortium with organisations, university departments and think tanks playing key roles.

(SP)