David Faulkner spent a large part of his career in the Home Office, which he joined in 1959.
He had responsibility at various times for prisons, House of Lords reform, Northern Ireland, police and the internal administration of the Department.
In the years which followed he was responsible for work on modernising the criminal justice system and for coordinating the government’s response to crime, including the treatment of minorities and victims, legislation on sentencing, and the means of preventing and reducing crime.
He wrote and lectured on various aspects of criminal justice and public service reform, with a particular interest in subjects such as accountability, responsibility, the rights and duties of citizenship and the relationships between law, politics and administration.
He was a trustee of several charities concerned with law reform, the treatment of offenders, the prevention of crime and opportunities for young people.