The country's top police officers have taken the unusual step of mounting a joint campaign to press for a radical shake-up of the criminal trial system.

The Evening Press talked to North Yorkshire Police assistant chief

constable Peter Bagshaw, whose force is backing

the call

POLICING in North Yorkshire faces a bleak future unless far-reaching changes are made to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, says Peter Bagshaw.

The police chief is adding his force's weight to the national call for reform of the court system, which has been made by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), with support from the Police Superintendents' Association and the Police Federation.

The group says court trials have become "a game in which the search for truth has been lost" and that the system is "so burdened by arcane rules, administration and bureaucracy that it is preventing justice from being done".

One of the catalysts for their campaign was last year's authoritative British Crime Survey, which showed that just 26 per cent of people in the country felt the court system met the needs of victims of crime.

Mr Bagshaw warns that this dwindling public confidence creates "a downward spiral".

He says: "If the courtroom game is given primacy over justice and fairness then public confidence is eroded, the guilty go free, we see an increase in crime and disorder and the police are alienated from the public. We are talking about a worse environment to live in.

"If public support for criminal justice is down to a quarter, we have got to say: 'How effective can we be at policing the streets?' If we don't take the opportunity to make radical changes now, I would argue it is inevitable the decline will continue."

The police are the public face of the criminal justice system, he adds, and when people become victims of crime they assume the offender will be caught, sent to court and convicted. If that doesn't happen, then people blame the police.

"Some people don't even report crime because they say: 'What's the point? What are the chances of the police catching the offender and what are the chances of them going to court and being convicted?', and then they feel the offender will just end up with a slap on the wrist.

"It is that kind of attitude that we are saying we have got to address."

He says this attitude was also demoralising to police officers and had a negative effect on the level of crime.

Although he believes the problem is not particularly acute in North Yorkshire compared to other parts of the country, he feels urgent action is needed before the situation deteriorates any further.

"Something needs to be done now. At the moment the system favours defendants and we need to increase the rights of victims and witnesses.

"If you create an environment where the public have more confidence in the system, you create a virtuous circle. The public, being more confident, will involve the police in more issues relevant to them, more information will be gained from them and they can be confident that the criminal justice system will take action."

The ACPO-led campaign also calls for a quicker, more focused trial system which would stop the lengthy process which many victims and witnesses face and save police officers from wasting time on stand-by as witnesses. Research shows that between 30 to 40 per cent of an officer's time at court is unnecessary.

The campaign also wants to see facilities for victims and witnesses at courts developed.

In North Yorkshire, limited resources mean a balance needs to be struck between spending cash on improved, but centralised, courts, which would mean some people are inconvenienced by having to travel further to them.

But, Mr Bagshaw said, change might not come easily.

Previous efforts, such as the recommendations of Royal Commissions, had been hampered.

"There have been vested interests within the legal culture that have prevented changes being made, which is a great pity.

"There are certain people within the criminal justice system who are not as enthusiastic about change as we are. We are showing the Government that we are totally behind radical change where it is going to improve the lot for victims and witnesses and, though that change may be painful, we think it is necessary."

Carolyn Kirby, vice president of the Law Society, said: "Solicitors, whether prosecuting or defending, operate according to their thorough and complex rules of conduct and these are tightly enforced by the Law Society.

"We believe that there is a need for much fuller debate on how criminal trials are conducted but do not accept that the current shortcomings are caused by defence lawyers exploiting loopholes in the law or that the solution lies in changes to the codes of conduct of advocates in court.

"It is the system which needs to change not the lawyers. Proper debate is needed, short term solutions are not the answer."

Director of civil rights group Liberty, John Wadham, disputed the police view that criminal trials were a "game" and said there was a vital need to protect defendants from miscarriages of justice.

Pointing out that police and prosecutors were under "immense and growing political pressure to get convictions above all else", he said: "We have to protect defendants properly to ensure that this isn't the wrong 'result' and that we don't send more innocent people to prison.

"The criminal justice system isn't a game - because there is always a real danger that the system will accuse and sometimes convict the wrong person."

The case for change

THE police believe a reform programme should include:

* A right of appeal by the prosecution in serious cases where rulings have resulted in the premature ending of the case.

* Courts designed and run to suit the needs of victims and witnesses, including separate waiting areas and better use of technology to allow the witness to give evidence remotely.

* A fair exchange of information between the prosecution and the defence before the trial, compared to the current system in which important information often comes solely from the prosecution until the day in court.

* Better case management to allow for speedier trials which focus on the facts of the case and prevent the unnecessary calling of witnesses.

* A review of the self-governing Bar and Law Society codes of practice to ensure lawyers have clear guidance on standards of professional conduct.

* New procedures to ensure lawyers see a case through from beginning to end, instead of the 'musical chairs' of lawyers which occurs now.

Updated: 11:20 Friday, January 11, 2002