Overview

Volume II of The Official History of Criminal Justice in England and Wales traces, for the first time, the genesis and early evolution of two principal institutions in the criminal justice system, the Crown Court and the Crown Prosecution Service. This volume examines the origins and shaping of two critical institutions: the Crown Court, which rose from the ashes of the Courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions; and the Crown Prosecution Service which replaced a rather haphazard system of police prosecuting solicitors. The 1971 Courts Act and the 1985 Prosecution of Offences Act were to reconfigure the architecture of criminal justice, transforming the procedures by which people were charged, prosecuted and, in the weightier cases demanding a judge and jury, tried in the criminal courts of England and Wales. One stemmed from a crisis in a medieval system of travelling justices that tried people in the wrong places and for inadequate lengths of time. The other was precipitated by a scandal in which three men were wrongly convicted for the murder of a bisexual prostitute. Theirs is an as yet untold history that can be explored in depth because it is recent enough, in the words of Harold Wilson, to have been ‘written while the official records could still be supplemented by reference to the personal recollections of the public men who were involved’. This book will be of much interest to students of criminology and British history, politics and law.

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9780367730116

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Reviews

It would be a mistake for most criminologists to relegate the topic of court reform to the arcane attentions of specialist, insider lawyers. On the contrary, there is rich and abundant material here for theorists interested in the formation of the state and the mutual relationship and obligations of citizens to the state and it to them. Paul Rock has painstakingly ensured that the significance of this re-shaping, dragging the organisation of the criminal courts into the 20th century, is traced in powerful detail. But he has also demonstrated how much scope there is for further original historical research, revealing how little attention had been given by social scientists and historians to the manner in which, for example, the prosecutorial system worked in practice before it was transferred from the police... This is a fine history of vital aspects of criminal justice policy. It illustrates for the reader all the key and persistent considerations surrounding the organisation of the criminal courts, the police investigation of crime and the decision as to whether or not to prosecute. Rod Morgan, Professor Emeritus, University of Bristol, Punishment and Society There are many strengths to this excellent book. The depth of this work, the availability of a considerable amount of government records, and the invaluable interviews conducted with many of those involved at high-level decision-making combine to produce a comprehensive history of these two important reforms to the criminal justice system of England and Wales. In particular, the oral history aspect, allowing for the interrogation of unusually frank and open civil servants and others (perhaps because most are now retired), gives a convincing description of the events as they occurred on the inside of the administrative machine of governmental and criminal justice reform. Perhaps as criminologists and historians we should be more cynical of 'official history', but Rock's assured handling of the subject matter, his sources (both human and paper) and the careful analysis of the topic generally makes for a very persuasive history. It is also particularly well written - it is not often the case that books on administrative history, citing enquiry reports, conferences, and committee make-up and findings can hold the reader's attention quite as well as this splendid work. Dr. Coleman A. Dennehy, University College Dublin, Ireland, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice It would be a mistake for most criminologists to relegate the topic of court reform to the arcane attentions of specialist, insider lawyers. On the contrary, there is rich and abundant material here for theorists interested in the formation of the state and the mutual relationship and obligations of citizens to the state and it to them. Paul Rock has painstakingly ensured that the significance of this re-shaping, dragging the organisation of the criminal courts into the 20th century, is traced in powerful detail. But he has also demonstrated how much scope there is for further original historical research, revealing how little attention had been given by social scientists and historians to the manner in which, for example, the prosecutorial system worked in practice before it was transferred from the police... This is a fine history of vital aspects of criminal justice policy. It illustrates for the reader all the key and persistent considerations surrounding the organisation of the criminal courts, the police investigation of crime and the decision as to whether or not to prosecute. Rod Morgan, Professor Emeritus, University of Bristol, Punishment and Society There are many strengths to this excellent book. The depth of this work, the availability of a considerable amount of government records, and the invaluable interviews conducted with many of those involved at high-level decision-making combine to produce a comprehensive history of these two important reforms to the criminal justice system of England and Wales. In particular, the oral history aspect, allowing for the interrogation of unusually frank and open civil servants and others (perhaps because most are now retired), gives a convincing description of the events as they occurred on the inside of the administrative machine of governmental and criminal justice reform. Perhaps as criminologists and historians we should be more cynical of 'official history', but Rock's assured handling of the subject matter, his sources (both human and paper) and the careful analysis of the topic generally makes for a very persuasive history. It is also particularly well written - it is not often the case that books on administrative history, citing enquiry reports, conferences, and committee make-up and findings can hold the reader's attention quite as well as this splendid work. Dr. Coleman A. Dennehy, University College Dublin, Ireland, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice '..for all of their sometimes unacknowledged limitations, I have loved reading these books. I am touched by the hermeneutic empathy with which the authors approach the voices of their sources. If we read these books attentively, we find that they contain immense resources for rethinking our criminal justice fix. I look forward to completing the set.' Richard Sparks, Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh, Journal of Law and Society

"""I have loved reading these books. I am touched by the hermeneutic empathy with which the authors approach the voices of their sources. If we read these books attentively, we find that they contain immense resources for rethinking our criminal justice fix. I look forward to completing the set."" Professor Richard Sparks, University of Edinburgh, Journal of Law and Society"

It would be a mistake for most criminologists to relegate the topic of court reform to the arcane attentions of specialist, insider lawyers. On the contrary, there is rich and abundant material here for theorists interested in the formation of the state and the mutual relationship and obligations of citizens to the state and it to them. Paul Rock has painstakingly ensured that the significance of this re-shaping, dragging the organisation of the criminal courts into the 20th century, is traced in powerful detail. But he has also demonstrated how much scope there is for further original historical research, revealing how little attention had been given by social scientists and historians to the manner in which, for example, the prosecutorial system worked in practice before it was transferred from the police... This is a fine history of vital aspects of criminal justice policy. It illustrates for the reader all the key and persistent considerations surrounding the organisation of the criminal courts, the police investigation of crime and the decision as to whether or not to prosecute. Rod Morgan, Professor Emeritus, University of Bristol, Punishment and Society There are many strengths to this excellent book. The depth of this work, the availability of a considerable amount of government records, and the invaluable interviews conducted with many of those involved at high-level decision-making combine to produce a comprehensive history of these two important reforms to the criminal justice system of England and Wales. In particular, the oral history aspect, allowing for the interrogation of unusually frank and open civil servants and others (perhaps because most are now retired), gives a convincing description of the events as they occurred on the inside of the administrative machine of governmental and criminal justice reform. Perhaps as criminologists and historians we should be more cynical of 'official history', but Rock's assured handling of the subject matter, his sources (both human and paper) and the careful analysis of the topic generally makes for a very persuasive history. It is also particularly well written - it is not often the case that books on administrative history, citing enquiry reports, conferences, and committee make-up and findings can hold the reader's attention quite as well as this splendid work. Dr. Coleman A. Dennehy, University College Dublin, Ireland, The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice

Author Information

Paul Rock is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics. His published work has focused chiefly on the evolution of criminal justice policies in Canada and England and Wales, particularly for victims of crime, and on developments in criminological theory.

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