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National Audit Office survey of the views of the Chairs of Local Criminal Justice Boards, December 2003

Introductory note

In December 1999 the National Audit Office reported on the management and performance of the criminal justice system (Criminal Justice: Working Together, HC29, 1999-00). At that time it cost some £9 billion a year to process some two million defendants through the criminal courts.The Comptroller and Auditor General, head of the National Audit Office, reported that more remained to be done to promote co-operation between the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts and other agencies and to make the right information available for efficient management of the system.

Local Criminal Justice Boards became operational on 1 April 2003. The core membership of each Board is the Chief Constable, the Chief Crown Prosecutor, the Court Service Group Manager, a senior manager of the Prison Service, the Chief Officer of the Probation Service and a Youth Offending Team manager, and they are typically chaired by one of the members. The Boards’ purpose is to deliver improvement in the local operation of the criminal justice system. This survey was commissioned by the National Audit Office to obtain early feedback on the role and operation of the new Boards and to assess their early impact on joint working arrangements.