Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 Elizabeth II. Chapter 43

Format:

Corporate Author:

Great Britain

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

This Act follows the 1998 consultation paper, "Joining Forces to Protect the Public". The act aims to protect the public and to reduce re-offending through the effective enforcement of community sentences. It is in four parts.The first part creates two new services: a restructured the Probation Service which will be renamed the National Probation Service for England and Wales and will be directly accountable to the Home Secretary; the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service which will take over Family Court work, leaving the National Probation Service for England and Wales to concentrate on working with offenders. Part two sets up an integrated statutory system to prevent unsuitable people from working with children, with a statutory ban enforced by criminal sanctions. Part three deals with community orders, including greater use of electronic monitoring and stricter enforcement and ensures that sex offenders subject to the Sex Offenders Act 1997 should not be eligible for the Home Detention Curfew scheme. New powers are introduced for the compulsory drug testing of offenders and alleged offenders at various points in their contact with the Criminal Justice System. The Crown Court is provided with new powers to issue a summons or warrant in respect of an offender who fails to appear at the Crown Court to answer a summons issued by a justice in respect of an alleged breach of a community order. It also provides for reprimands and final warnings, under the Final Warning Scheme, to be given away from the police station and allows for bail; introduces changes to the way in which tariffs are set for those under age 18 and abolishes the sentences of detention in a Young Offender Institution and custody for life for those over age 18.Part four introduces a new power to allow the police access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) driver records and increases the penalty for parents who fail to ensure that their children attend school regularly. Part