NCJ Number
155323
Date Published
1995
Length
52 pages
Annotation
In 1993, approximately 5 months after implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Great Britain Home Office commissioned a study of over 2,000 respondents from the criminal justice agencies involved in the Act to determine how well they thought the Act was operating.
Abstract
In general, the respondents felt the Act had had a major impact on their workload; that despite their high level of understanding of the Act, some aspects remained ambiguous; and that training in preparation for the Act had been well-received and helpful. While most magistrates, clerks, and attorneys believed that there were major problems which needed amending, prison staff, probation officers, and social services staff in general believed the Act was quite well considered. Unit fines, Section 29, and the assessment of offense seriousness were seen as the major difficulties with the Act, while provisions dealing with community penalties, automatic conditional releases, and children's evidence were thought to be working well. 28 tables, 1 appendix, and 4 references