The criminal justice system in England & Wales is apparently perceived by the public as "distant, unaccountable and unanswerable", according to a recent review as reported by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
That would be the same as Scotland then ? So we all need a change.
The Telegraph reports :
'Unaccountable' criminal justice system must change, says review
By Caroline Gammell
Changes must be made to the criminal justice system because it is perceived by the public as "distant, unaccountable and unanswerable", a year-long Government review has concluded.
The planned criminal justice reforms are designed to boost public confidence in criminal justice in England and Wales
More than 30 proposals have been put forward in the report, including the idea that community sentences become more "visible and demanding".
Elderly victims of crime may get anonymity in court, while similar special measures may also be made available for disabled victims and those too frightened to speak out against their assailants.
The planned reforms are designed to boost public confidence in criminal justice in England and Wales after Gordon Brown ordered a review of the system.
The proposals have been drawn up by Louise Casey, the Government's crime and communities adviser and former head of Tony Blair's Respect task force.
She said people did not believe crime had fallen, and thought the law was stacked in favour of offenders' rights. Her review concluded the system was seen as "distant, unaccountable and unanswerable".
Miss Casey said offenders ordered to carry out community punishment should be forced to wear high-visibility bibs to identify them as criminals.
"Once these people commit crimes they disappear into the system," she said. "We need to get over some of the hand-wringing that says we cannot put them in a uniform."
Work projects for offenders would be re-named "community payback" and run by private companies and other organisations such as charities, rather than the Probation Service.
She also called for the "intensity" of sentences be increased, so offenders spend five days a week - or three nights a week and one day a weekend if employed - carrying out their tasks such as litter-picking or cleaning up graffiti.
Currently offenders are allowed to complete an order over a period of years.
The report also called for a "public commissioner on crime" to champion people's concerns within government, and a new performance target to measure public confidence in the system.
It proposed stripping the Home Office of responsibility for producing national crime statistics, with the task handed to an independent organisation.
The report was based on the views of 13,000 people in England and Wales, consulted over an eight-month period.
It found that 55 per cent of the public believed crime was the most important issue facing Britain, while 29 per cent thought sentences were too lenient.
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