§ 38. Dr. CableTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the results of co-operation between the courts and the police to ensure efficient use of police time during court hearings. [51330]
§ Mr. WillsCo-operation on this aspect of inter-agency work takes place in a number of ways. HM Magistrates Courts Service Inspectorate, jointly with the Inspectorates for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, are 691W undertaking a joint thematic inspection of listing. Fieldwork has commenced and their report is expected in the autumn.
Sir David O'Dowd is chairing the Reducing Bureaucracy Task Force that has been set up to identify and reduce bureaucratic burdens in the criminal justice system and in particular on police officers. This includes work on the role of the courts. Fieldwork through this task force has commenced and a final report is due in July. There is close co-operation between the Inspectorates and the work being done by the O'Dowd task force.
In 2001, the national Trials Issues Group issued guidance to all criminal justice areas, pointing out the huge cost implications of calling officers to court on their rest days, or at the end of a late turn of duty, etc. The advice raised awareness of the cost and manpower implications of court listings and it is hoped that the good practice advice contained therein has led to further improvements. At a local level, there is on-going consideration in relation to the efficient use of all court users' time through local Trials Issues Group meetings and the Area Criminal Justice Strategy Committees.
The Crown court are currently running the Xhibit pilot project in Chelmsford which is look to use IT better to inform parties to a case on how the case is progressing. This includes sending electronic messages from the courtroom to pagers and mobile phones and means that witnesses do not have to wait in the court building to give evidence but can be contacted as and when needed. Although not specifically targeted at police officers, it allows the officers to remain in their station (if it is relatively close to the court building) and carry on with other duties while they are waiting.
In relation to "cracked and ineffective" trials in the Crown court, a study commenced in Manchester on 16 April in conjunction with other agencies and is looking at the best ways to avoid unnecessary attendance at court by the parties and their witnesses. In the magistrates courts, a new data collection exercise commenced in April 2002, which will consider the reasons for "cracked and ineffective" trials and this will also impact upon police officers' role in court.