SOME of the region's senior crimefighters will meet today to discuss ways of bringing more offenders to justice.

Sixty delegates from Northumbria Police and the force area Crown Prosecution Service and courts will attend the Working for Justice Conference.

It is the second conference organised by the Northumbria Local Criminal Justice Board and will take place at Northumbria Police headquarters in Ponteland.

The first event, in April, set up new initiatives to improve procedures.

Ruth Parker, chairman of the Local Criminal Justice Board Communications Group, said that changes within the legal system already meant that cases were dealt with more speedily.

It was also taking less time to get trials heard, especially cases due to go before magistrates' courts.

She said: "This conference aims to build on that and we are particularly keen to make things better for victims and witnesses and to give the public, in general, more confidence in the criminal justice system."

One of the issues to be examined at today's conference will be be victim and witness care.

Delegates will also discuss how to make the trial process more efficient and how to use the Proceeds of Crime legislation to strip criminals of assets gaineds through illegal activity.