these utilitarian beliefs also underlay williams's efforts as a law reformer, an activity in which he managed to play two roles at once. the first was the "establishment man". he devoted many hours over several decades to serving on a range of official committees, in particular the criminal law revision committee, of which he was a member from 1959 to 1980. in this capacity he shares the credit for a number of reports which led, among other things, to the decriminalisation of suicide in 1961 and the radical reform and codification of the law of theft in 1968.