NCJ Number
238988
Journal
Crime and Justice Bulletin Issue: 156 Dated: January 2012 Pages: 1-20
Date Published
January 2012
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research evaluated the effect of the Local Court Process Reforms on the workloads of police and court personnel.
Abstract
Findings from the study on the effect of the Local Court Process Reforms (LCPR) on police and court personnel workloads include the following: the percentage of T1 offenders who had briefs prepared did not increase when court personnel returned to the non-LCPR system; non-specified summary offenders and T2 offenders had a lower mean number of police statements in their briefs during the LCPR period compared with the non-LCPR period; no differences were found in the mean hearing times for defended cases or for the mean number of adjournments for either the LCPR period or the non-LCPR period; and the average finalization time for all offenders was shorter during the LCPR period compared to the non-LCPR period. This study was conducted by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research to evaluate the effect of instituting LCPRs on the amount of police time for preparing Briefs of Evidence, the length of hearing times for defended cases, the existence of more court adjournments, and the existence of longer court delay/finalization times. Data for the study were obtained by examining the police court outcomes in one court during two timeframes: use of the LCPRs and the court's return to non-LCPR arrangements. The study finding indicates that the use of the LCPRs improved some court outcomes while having no effect on others. Implications for policy are discussed. Tables, figures, references, and appendix