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Hertfordshire's Commissioner Lloyd's ideas informing national policyPublished 08/03/2013
Commissioner David Lloyd’s ideas and innovations are informing national reforms led by the Ministry of Justice.
As well as speaking at a number of key national events about the importance of Police and Crime Commissioners playing a role in the reforms to probation and rehabilitation, his innovative ‘offender pays’ proposals are being mirrored in announcements from the Ministry of Justice.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced on Wednesday (March 6) that there would be changes to the law to enable convicted criminals’ cars to be sold to pay back for the costs of their legal bills. These ideas have a strong link to Commissioner Lloyd’s ground-breaking proposals, first aired in January; He said that it is offenders, rather than the public, who should foot the bill for crime.
The Commissioner’s plans have since been outlined in more detail in the first Police and Crime Plan for Hertfordshire which is open for consultation until the end of today (March 8).
Commissioner Lloyd said “I fully support the Justice Secretary’s proposals. People who are convicted of crime, especially where they have denied their guilt and forced victims to go through the pain of a trial, and at great cost to the public purse, should be paying their way. If we can force the sale of a criminal’s assets to make this happen more swiftly, then that is another useful weapon in the fight against crime.”
On his ‘Offender Pays’ agenda, he added “I am challenging the way things are done now - where we all pay for the consequences of the few who engage in criminal behaviour – and saying that rather than decent people footing the bill, it should be the offender who pays. The message is clear, we all have choices but we need to accept the consequences too. If you commit crime in Hertfordshire you can be sure that we will be coming after you - through the courts and through your wallets.”
This week, Commissioner Lloyd has also been sharing a stage with the Justice Secretary at an event where national business, government and public sector leaders got together to discuss how to bring Mr Grayling’s reforms to the Probation Service to life. In the Commissioner’s speech (attached for reference) he suggested that Police and Crime Commissioners are uniquely placed to bring together local agencies to work together on rehabilitating offenders. He proposed that the current reform plans could go further still in the localisation of control and commissioning.
Commissioner Lloyd said in his speech: “I think the principles here are sound, the structures for their delivery are to be discussed, and that we need to look beyond reliance on probation services to tackle reoffending alone. And it may just be Police and Crime Commissioners who are the people to bring that local, nuanced thinking to bear.”
The Commissioner’s Offender Pays programme is being taken forward in a number of ways. Probation Service staff are working with in Commissioner’s office to establish paid rehabilitation courses (building on the success of Speed Awareness training) that aim to change behaviour and address impulsiveness and violence. He will also be working with the Home Office to expand the range of cases the police can prosecute directly. This will speed up the criminal justice process, provide better outcomes for victims and enable the constabulary to recoup some of the costs of crime. And for those who don’t, or can’t, pay their way, he will be creating the means for them to pay in kind, as well as engaging a private sector partner to help recover money owed.
Commissioner Lloyd said: “My plan is called “Everybody’s Business” because I believe that we can all do more to make our county better. The police can improve, members of the public can do more to help fight crime and businesses can also contribute to create the type of society that we want to live and work in.”
As well as speaking at a number of key national events about the importance of Police and Crime Commissioners playing a role in the reforms to probation and rehabilitation, his innovative ‘offender pays’ proposals are being mirrored in announcements from the Ministry of Justice.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced on Wednesday (March 6) that there would be changes to the law to enable convicted criminals’ cars to be sold to pay back for the costs of their legal bills. These ideas have a strong link to Commissioner Lloyd’s ground-breaking proposals, first aired in January; He said that it is offenders, rather than the public, who should foot the bill for crime.
The Commissioner’s plans have since been outlined in more detail in the first Police and Crime Plan for Hertfordshire which is open for consultation until the end of today (March 8).
Commissioner Lloyd said “I fully support the Justice Secretary’s proposals. People who are convicted of crime, especially where they have denied their guilt and forced victims to go through the pain of a trial, and at great cost to the public purse, should be paying their way. If we can force the sale of a criminal’s assets to make this happen more swiftly, then that is another useful weapon in the fight against crime.”
On his ‘Offender Pays’ agenda, he added “I am challenging the way things are done now - where we all pay for the consequences of the few who engage in criminal behaviour – and saying that rather than decent people footing the bill, it should be the offender who pays. The message is clear, we all have choices but we need to accept the consequences too. If you commit crime in Hertfordshire you can be sure that we will be coming after you - through the courts and through your wallets.”
This week, Commissioner Lloyd has also been sharing a stage with the Justice Secretary at an event where national business, government and public sector leaders got together to discuss how to bring Mr Grayling’s reforms to the Probation Service to life. In the Commissioner’s speech (attached for reference) he suggested that Police and Crime Commissioners are uniquely placed to bring together local agencies to work together on rehabilitating offenders. He proposed that the current reform plans could go further still in the localisation of control and commissioning.
Commissioner Lloyd said in his speech: “I think the principles here are sound, the structures for their delivery are to be discussed, and that we need to look beyond reliance on probation services to tackle reoffending alone. And it may just be Police and Crime Commissioners who are the people to bring that local, nuanced thinking to bear.”
The Commissioner’s Offender Pays programme is being taken forward in a number of ways. Probation Service staff are working with in Commissioner’s office to establish paid rehabilitation courses (building on the success of Speed Awareness training) that aim to change behaviour and address impulsiveness and violence. He will also be working with the Home Office to expand the range of cases the police can prosecute directly. This will speed up the criminal justice process, provide better outcomes for victims and enable the constabulary to recoup some of the costs of crime. And for those who don’t, or can’t, pay their way, he will be creating the means for them to pay in kind, as well as engaging a private sector partner to help recover money owed.
Commissioner Lloyd said: “My plan is called “Everybody’s Business” because I believe that we can all do more to make our county better. The police can improve, members of the public can do more to help fight crime and businesses can also contribute to create the type of society that we want to live and work in.”
