This collection examines contemporary challenges to the criminal justice
system in England and Wales.
The chapters, written by established academics, rising stars and
practising lawyers, seek not only to highlight these challenges but to
offer solutions. The book examines issues with legal assistance in the
police station, concerns relating to juror decision making and problems
in and presented by both virtual hearings and the advent of the Single
Justice Procedure Notice. The work also examines challenges surrounding
vulnerability in the criminal justice system. Here, diversity includes
vulnerability in the criminal trial, neurodivergence as well as issues
with diversity and marginalisation in the criminal justice system as a
whole. The book also discusses matters centred around sexual offending -
including the attrition rate in rape cases as well as the recent
development of 'vigilante' paedophile hunters and their acceptance as a
viable limb of the criminal justice system. Finally, the volume looks at
the post-conviction stage and examines recent prison policy through the
lens of the human rights of the prisoner. The closing chapter examines
the independence of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and highlights
how recent changes have undermined this.
While focused on England and Wales, the topics discussed are of wider
international significance and will be of interest to students,
academics and policy-makers.
