Local Criminal Justice Board
Police and Crime Commissioner Clare Moody chairs Avon and Somerset’s Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB), which brings together criminal justice partners to work collectively as one criminal justice system.
The LCJBs consists of representatives from Police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Courts (HMCTS), Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), Youth Justice Service (YJS), and victim and witness support services and other relevant representatives. They work together to identify cross cutting issues affecting the whole justice system to improve the experiences of victims, witnesses, and defendants to reduce reoffending and to identify solutions to systemic problems that affect all our organisations.
The LCJB has a 2 year business plan which lays out the priorities for its work. Each priority area consists of a partnership subgroup with specialists from each agency coming together to deliver practical outcomes in their areas.
LCJB Priorities are:
- Reducing disproportionality
- Supporting Women and Girls
- Preventing Male Violence against women and girls
- Implementing Child First Principles
- Streamlining Victims and Witnesses support
- Reducing Reoffending
- Improving efficiency and timeliness through the justice system
Clare’s statement:
The LCJB is committed to improving the experience of all Avon and Somerset residents who have contact with the justice system. We are focused on building a fair and equal justice system that understands the needs of the individuals it affects. This Board is necessary because the different agencies do work as a system, impacting on each other; working together we can find solutions to the many problems that get in the way of delivering fair, effective and reliable justice.
Aims:
- To improve public confidence in the criminal justice system in Avon and Somerset.
- To provide strategic direction, co-ordination, and oversight as a collective partnership to deliver successful outcomes against the key priority criminality areas, impacting our community.
- To work in partnership to provide a high quality, inclusive and effective criminal justice system for the communities of Avon and Somerset.
- To ensure victims voices are at the heart of decision making throughout the criminal justice system.
The Avon and Somerset Criminal Justice Board (ASCJB) comprises of the Chief Officers, or nominated representatives, of the following agencies in Avon and Somerset:
- Crown Prosecution Service
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary
- Avon and Somerset PCC
- His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service
- The Judiciary and Magistracy
- His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service
- Youth Justice Service
- Youth Justice Board
- Defence
- Legal Aid Agency
- Victim and Witness Care
- ASP’s Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit
- Specialist Support services – Safelink
- Other individuals, whether as members or on an ad-hoc basis, as considered appropriate – Family Courts, Education, Health.