CAMBRIDGESHIRE chief constable Julie Spence has taken up her position as chairman of Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board. She takes over from Chief Crown Prosecutor, Richard Crowley. Membership of the Board is limited to chief officers from the county

CAMBRIDGESHIRE chief constable Julie Spence has taken up her position as chairman of Cambridgeshire Criminal Justice Board.

She takes over from Chief Crown Prosecutor, Richard Crowley. Membership of the Board is limited to chief officers from the county's criminal justice agencies and its aim is to improve the delivery of justice in Cambridgeshire.

Mrs Spence has put victims and witnesses, persistent offenders and compensation for victims of lower-level violence and crimes against property at the forefront of her work this year. She said "I want to put victims and witnesses at the heart of every single organisation involved in criminal justice. I sometimes think that the pendulum swings too far in favour of the offender and we need to make sure that all our services work to make the administration of justice swifter and more effective for victims."

The Criminal Justice board has the advantage of working with all the "key decision makers". Since 2002/3 the number of offenders brought to justice has jumped from just over 12,500 to almost 17,500 last year, accompanied by an overall fall in crime.

Mrs Spence added "In addition we will be continuing to crack down on persistent offenders - tracking them, getting in their hair, disrupting them and making sure all parts of the system work together to tackle the 20 per cent of offenders who are responsible for 80 per cent of crimes in this county."

During the coming year the Board will also be looking at compensation for victims paid for by the assets of offenders, or their guardians if appropriate. Mrs Spence believes that people should not profit from crime. She said "confiscating and selling the lower level assets of local criminals may well give them something else to think about."

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