Government creates justice ministry

By Luke Baker

LONDON (Reuters) - The government took a major step in a shake up of the criminal justice system on Wednesday with the creation of a ministry to handle controversial issues such as overflowing prisons and cash-strapped courts.

The newly created ministry of justice will take on the penal and judicial responsibilities previously handled by the vast Home Office, which even the minister who runs it has described as unruly and "unfit for purpose".

"The justice system is performing significantly better than in the past, but there is still considerable room for improvement," said Charles Falconer, who will head the ministry and becomes secretary of state for justice.

"By bringing together courts, prisons and probation services, we will have a coherent system looking at the whole life of an offender from conviction to punishment and rehabilitation."

The move, announced in January this year, followed a wave of criticism of the Home Office after it was revealed that hundreds of Britons convicted of serious crimes abroad were not on British data bases, one of a series of damaging revelations.

One of the toughest tasks the new ministry will face is handling a massive surge in prisoner numbers.

Britain has about 80,000 prisoners -- substantially more than a country of comparable size, such as France, where there are about 50,000 -- and with numbers projected to go on rising, jails cannot be built quickly enough.

Space for around 2,000 more prisoners is expected to be available with the next two years, but the prison population is projected to swell by around 10 percent in the medium-term, according to ministry officials.