Criminal Justice System: UK

The Audit Commission support improvement in the delivery of police and probation services, analysing criminal justice services from a user's perspective and working with other regulators to minimise the burden and maximise the benefits of external regulation.

CJS Online is part of the modernising government agenda to maintain a consolidated criminal justice system presence on the Internet.

CJ  Scotland is an independent log and information exchange with a focus on Scottish criminal justice issues.

The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) selects candidates for judicial office. It does so on merit, through fair and open competition, from the widest range of eligible candidates.

The crimeinfo site is compiled by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King’s College London. It offers basic but informative material on crime, what causes it and how we deal with it.

The Crime Reduction Website is aimed at assisting community safety and crime prevention practitioners to reduce crime and disorder. The Toolkits integrated into this website provide a comprehensive approach to crime reduction via partnership working.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is an independent body responsible for investigating suspected miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The CCRC reviews the convictions of those who believe they have been wrongly found guilty of a criminal offence, or wrongly sentenced.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is Scotland's independent public prosecution and deaths investigation service. It is headed by the Lord Advocate.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the Government Department responsible for prosecuting people in England and Wales who have been charged by the police with a criminal offence. Created by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, the CPS is an independent body that works closely with the police.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs site is retained for archive and information purposes only and may not contain the most up to date information. The responsibilities of the Department for Constitutional Affairs have now transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO): HMSO aims to publish all new Acts of the UK Parliament on the Internet simultaneously with or, at least within 24 hours of, their publication in printed form.

The Home Office is the government department responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales. Charles Clarke is the current Home Secretary.

Information on the Criminal Justice System, Digest Four offers a comprehensive picture of crime and justice in England and Wales. It summarises information from a range of government and statistical sources. Users can access data for earlier years unavailable in hard copy.

The Judicial Studies Board for England and Wales provides training and instruction for full and part-time judges in the skills necessary to be a judge. It also has an advisory role in training lay magistrates.

The Justice Research Consortium is a partnership of criminal justice and research institutions dedicated to testing the effectiveness of restorative justice in the UK.  The JRC’s research institutions are the University of Pennsylvania and the Australian National University.

Juror Online is a government-sponsored site that takes the viewer through what happens on jury service.

The Magistrates' Association represents over 80% of serving volunteer magistrates. It promotes uniformity of practice, most notably by publishing the Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines.

MI5, the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's security intelligence agency. Their official purpose is “to protect national security and economic well-being, and to support the law enforcement agencies in preventing and detecting serious crime”. The What’s New section has regularly updated information.

The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007 to deliver on the government's objectives of "protecting the public, reducing re-offending and sense in sentencing".The Ministry is responsible for the courts, prisons, probation, criminal law and sentencing.

The Home Office Police  page has information on all aspects of policing, including complaints, equality and diversity, and race relations between the police and the community.

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey London 1674 to 1834 offers a searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published. It currently lists some 53,000 trials, from April 1674 to December 1799. Mainly aimed at school students, but well worth a browse.

The Home Office Rehabilitation of Offenders page has some useful links and downloads, including the review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

The Research Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) is an integral part of the Home Office. RDS specialist staff include statisticians, researchers, economists, and scientists. There is a wealth of useful data, information and research freely available on this site.

Lord Justice Auld's Review of the Criminal Courts of England and Wales, originally published in 2001, can be downloaded in its entirety here.

The Scottish Children’s Hearings website provides information on the unique system of care and justice for Scotland’s children and young people. The site has some useful downloads.

The Scottish Court Service website provides information relating to all civil and criminal courts in Scotland, including the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Sheriff Courts and other courts, commissions and tribunals as well the District Courts.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission was established in 1999 to consider cases where it is alleged that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and to refer appropriate cases to the High Court for determination.

The Scottish Executive’s Justice pages have excellent links to, the courts, criminal justice, police and prisons civil law and civil justice.

The Sentencing Guidelines website lists the guidelines produced to encourage consistency in sentencing in England and Wales.The website also represents the work of the Sentencing Advisory Panel, an independent public body charged with encouraging consistency in sentencing.

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases. It hears appeals in criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is a non-departmental public body which aims to prevent offending by children and young people. The website is a key source for theYouth Justice System.

Criminal Justice System: International

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation is a multi-disciplinary South African non-governmental organisation. It contributes to peaceful and fundamental transformation in South Africa, and in the Southern African region.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a network of over 2,000 non-governmental organizations advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court.

Courts.Net provides access to web sites maintained by courts throughout the USA and elsewhere. The listings are organized in sections, covering courts in all states and the Federal system, as well as D.C., territories, Canada and Australia.

Cross-National Studies in Crime and Justice from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics reports on a study on crime and punishment from 1981 to 1999 in Australia, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. Crimes compared include murder, rape, robbery, serious assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft.

The Department of Justice, Canada works to ensure the justice system that is fair, accessible and efficient. It helps the federal government to develop policy and to make and reform laws.

The European Court of Justice is responsible for the uniform interpretation of Community law. In particular, it answers questions referred to it by national courts whose role is fundamental as they are the first bodies to apply Community law.

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) is an international forum for national governments, local authorities, public agencies,  and non-government organisations to exchange experience, consider emerging knowledge, and improve policies and programmes in crime prevention and community safety.

The US National Archive of Criminal Justice Data preserves and distributes computerised crime and justice data from US Federal agencies, state agencies, and investigator initiated research projects to users for secondary statistical analysis. It was founded in 1978 as part of the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.

The Irish National Crime Council is an independent body. Its principal roles are to focus on crime prevention and to act as an independent source of policy advice to government.

The Canadian National Crime Prevention Strategy is focused upon community-based early intervention efforts that deal with the root causes of crime and victimisation.

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) is a US federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and programme development worldwide. The NCJRS has a hug criminal and juvenile justice library and database. Many interesting downloads are available here.

The National Institute of Justice is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice and is dedicated to researching crime control and justice issues.

The United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network is an electronic clearing-house which represents the culmination of several years of efforts coordinated by the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention in Vienna.

U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics has a wealth of relevant figures and statistics.

The United States Sentencing Commission’s duties include developing guidelines for sentencing in federal courts; collecting data about crime and sentencing; and serving as a resource to Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Judiciary on crime and sentencing policy.

The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, developed with U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics funding, provides narrative descriptions of the criminal justice systems of 45 countries around the world.

The World Justice Information Network is a library of international criminal justice links, news and publications. You need to register for full access.