Elite team of lawyers to deal with street crime

A task force of elite prosecutors is to tackle street crime in an effort to meet Tony Blair's pledge to bring robberies and muggings under control by September.

Highly experienced lawyers will take over prosecution of street crime cases in Britain's top 10 crime hotspots, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, said yesterday. The team will work with detectives, concentrating on potential offenders to nip the problem in the bud.

The announcement was met with scepticism by opposition parties and some criminal justice organisations, which questioned the effectiveness of such a scheme. Simon Hughes, home affairs spokesman for the the Liberal Democrats, said: "Further overstretching resources will not be in the interests of criminal justice as a whole. We need a better resourced and better trained Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that all offences are handled with the accuracy and urgency they deserve. Justice for all requires that all offences are treated as competently and as quickly as possible."

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said: "There is clear evidence of victim and witness intimidation, and a worrying number of trials collapse as a consequence. The real issue is not creating a 'premium' service but to appropriately resource the police, CPS and probation. Applying new labels such as this is nothing more than a sticking plaster."

Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "This is another well-intentioned government initiative, but it is not clear if it amounts to a coherent strategy.

Lord Goldsmith denied the scheme was a gimmick which would have little effect on the street crime problem. He said: "Public confidence in criminal justice is essential and this initiative is one way to help build that confidence ... This is real substance. This is real change. I'm quite confident this will be a key element in meeting the Government's aim to tackle street crime."

To finance the initiative, the CPS will receive £6m to recruit more lawyers and caseworkers. The lawyers will work closely with police officers to establish the right charge, hold urgent case conferences if necessary and give more careful consideration to discontinuing cases.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith, said: "I, and a large number of my prosecutors, live and work in the areas which are affected by the rise in street crime that we have been experiencing.

"We are determined, as responsible members of society, let alone prosecutors with a particular role to play within the system, to try to rid society of this menace."

The new service has already begun in the 10 areas defined by the Government last month when it announced new street crime courts. The areas include Greater Manchester, Greater London, and Merseyside.

Mr Calvert-Smith denied that directing experienced lawyers from one type of case to another would simply result in fewer successful prosecutions in other types of crime. "There are certainly more than enough experienced lawyers of suitable seniority to deal with this type of case within the service at present," he said.

Yesterday's announcement follows a street crime summit at Downing Street in March in which Cabinet ministers, senior police officers and criminal justice organisations set up a cross-Government taskforce on street crime.