HMIC Inspection Methodologies
Joint Area Inspections - An Introduction to the Process
The Government has established 42 criminal justice areas each of which has a Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) (consisting primarily of the chief officers of the main agencies). The work of the Board is supported by an Area Performance Officer, whose post is funded by the Home Office.
A Regional Performance Advisor, who works with a number of Boards, manages this Officer, although day to day management of the post rests with the Board. The LCJBs formally assumed their responsibilities on 1 April 2003. The LCJBs are charged with establishing and delivering, at a local level, targets to support the achievement of robust national targets designed to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice system.
Those targets, which form the backbone of Ministerial Public Service Agreements (PSA), involve:
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Improving the delivery of justice by increasing the proportion of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice; and a reduction in the proportion of
ineffective trials; and -
Improving the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system, including increasing that of minority ethnic communities, and increasing, year on year, the satisfaction of victims and witnesses, whilst respecting the rights of defendants.
