London Criminal Justice Board - 6 December 2022 Minutes

• Sophie Linden (SL) - Deputy Mayor
• Diana Luchford (DL) - MOPAC
• Will Balakrishnan (WB) - MOPAC
• Jo Towens (JT) - HMCTS
• Tamara Barnett (TB) - MOPAC
• Barry Hughes (BH) - CPS North
• Shobnam Islam - MOPAC
• Kilvinder Vigurs (KV) - Probation
• Debbie Weekes-Bernard (DBW) - Deputy Mayor
• Henry Smithers (HS) - YJB
• Claire Waxman CW) - London’s Victims’ Commissioner
• Kenny Bowie (KB) - MOPAC
• AC Matt Twist - MPS
• Ruth Bloomfield (RB) - MOPAC
• Cmdr Umer Khan (UK) - City of London Police
• Nick John (NJ) - MPS           
• Claudia Sturt (CS) - YJB
• Hesham Puri (HP) - London Crim Courts Assoc.
• Clare Ansdell (CA) - Probation
• Grace Loseby-Morris - MOPAC
• James Franklin - MPS
• Cmdr Nick John (NJ) - MPS
• Amy Hudspith - BTP
• Mo Foster - Prisons
• Enzo Riglia - APCC
• Kris Venkatasami - CPS South

Apologies

• Paul Furnell (PF) - BTP
• Alix Newbold (AN) - City of London Police Authority    
• Petroc James (PJ) - NHS
• Matt Pickering (MP) - MOPAC
• Althea Loderick (AL) - London Councils
• Gary Poole (GP) - London Prisons
• Andrea Simon (AS) - EVAW
• Ian Bickers (IB) - HMPPS
• Stephen McAllister (SM) - HMCTS
• Sinead Dervin (SD) - NHS
• Lionel Idan (LI) - CPS South

DMPC SL welcomed all members and minutes and actions from the last meeting were covered.  TB provided updates on the actions from the previous meeting:

• Action to set up a workshop on backlogs. At present, two workshops have taken place; five objectives drafted; looking to formalise the working group.
• Next three items were noted as all connected around data. Almost all partners have provided a data lead to sit on the LCJB data sub-group. MOPAC has drafted ToR and these will be sent out.
• Cross partner Victims Commissioning strategy action is on hold as still waiting for Victim Bill to become law.
• Protected characteristics data from NHS has yet to be provided. NHS has asked for more clarity and MOPAC is developing a clearer ask.

Ongoing work with Partners on Backlogs

JT provided an update to the board on actions and goals from the Court backlog workshops. Reduced attrition of victims and witnesses; improved case management; earlier convictions; gaining an understanding of demand and resources across agencies; and reviewing the London committal pass are among the goals. NJ emphasised the impact of backlogs on victims and summarised Safeguard: a national initiative. BH spoke of need to have more custody cases outside London. There is a bigger piece for LCJB around a national ask to the Government. TB later highlighted that they are reaching out to PCCs across the SE to look at how to collaborate around national asks to tackle backlogs. SL requested for the LCJB to produce a final product from MOPAC/HMCTS to address the issue.

Bringing more perpetrators to justice

Securing convictions and file quality

According to WB, case file quality and conviction rates are lower in London. BH summarised a number of issues: Magistrate's Courts have nearly recovered and reduced delays, but finalising cases at first trial is falling short, with the number of hearings more than doubling compared to BH's previous location in Wales; Met also has the lowest file quality rate. Police from the CoP offered to share a case study on file quality, which included internal quality checking mechanisms. The Board considered solutions to support broader CJS issues.

Hate Crime

MT warned against adding more layers of bureaucracy by hiring more people or allocating more resources. BH stated that closer collaboration on IT was required, and Magnet is a good practise example. The Victims Commissioner stated that police told her that they couldn't get CPS advice to build a case. MPS stated that they would investigate this. CW observed that victims of hate crimes come forward but then drop out because it is too difficult. One participant stated that they had experienced hate crime and had given up because it was too difficult. A community advocate could be a solution to this.

Ancillary orders – spotlight on victims of VAWG

WB expressed concern about MPS's handling of stalking and VAWG. CW clarified that protective measures will be in place, but victims frequently need to re-report or return to police to be taken seriously, and then struggle to get a response when these are violated. BH suggested that ancillary orders be requested whenever necessary, but complaints are frequently received when orders are not issued. CW raised concerns about the lack of data on how many orders were placed and fulfilled - there was no tracking available. CPS agreed to pick it up but does not actively monitor it. We don't have data on the number of orders issued, how many are violated, who is tracking what, and what happens when they are violated.

Developing a diversion Strategy for London

Diversions for lower-level offences require more work; providers will be supported by MOPAC and MPS. There is also new and increased demand that was not previously anticipated. NJ is considering how to deliver this initiative in accordance with legislative requirements while remaining within capacity. Met Ops has been presented with a paper for approval. The suggestion is that disposals are left to officers, allowing for large-scale diversion delivery. NJ also reminded LCJB about a drug-diversion workshops. We also have some diversion areas in the works, such as the Female Diversion Pilot. Colleagues may be interested to know that the Youth Endowment Fund has recently launched a project to build an evidence base. KV highlighted the lack of referrals based on needs e.g. neurodiversity, race, whilst black boys are disproportionately referred to the CJS. MPS said they are developing a digital solution.

Violence and reoffending

Current work is reflecting on how agencies can work better together. 2/3 of their work is in community. Let’s look at those not in prisons. Co-commissioning can be added to future LCJB agendas.