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Criminal Justice
Criminal justice voluntary sector under threat

Perhaps the most depressing finding of the survey, was that the majority of the sector has had to make redundancies with 50 organisations expecting to make 131 redundancies in the current financial year. Some of these job losses are being offset by the recruitment of more volunteers. In fact, the voluntary sector is again starting to resemble the volunteering sector with organisations having on average 1.7 volunteers for every member of paid staff.

8th May 2015
Prison
If Alex Cavendish were Justice Secretary

At the moment our prisons are a ticking time bomb that could explode into violence without warning. Frontline staff shortages and overcrowding are contributing to this explosive and toxic environment. If I were Secretary of State for Justice my first priority would be to ensure that no prison in England and Wales has less staff than it needs to operate a safe, normal regime.

7th May 2015
Disappointing outcomes for Peterborough and Doncaster prison PbR pilots

These are very disappointing results for the MoJ. Normally, there would be an expectation of a high level of performance from pilots with such public exposure where the partners had chosen to participate and, indeed, had championed and driven the initiative from the outset. Therefore, it is an extremely worrying sign for the new private providers of probation whose revenue will be, to an increasing extent, dependent on reducing reoffending rates, that these high-profile pilots are performing so poorly.

6th May 2015
Criminal Justice
The Prisoners’ Education Trust justice priorities

If we all want people to leave prison and make a positive contribution to society, why not enable them to start during their sentence? I would make it a priority to ensure prison staff work together with prisoners to improve rehabilitation by giving them more responsibility, using their talents and encouraging them to help others with roles such as peer mentors, student council representatives and learning champions.

5th May 2015
On Probation
The Probation Institute’s Justice priorities

Splitting up responsibility for offender management has created a divide between a small national probation service and the 21 CRCs leading a huge increase in bureaucracy and growing professional tensions. The probation profession is potentially being undermined as there is no longer a requirement for CRCs to use staff with recognised probation qualifications. They no longer have to employ qualified probation officers to manage complex cases.

2nd May 2015
Infographics
Social media and crime

The financial cost of cybercrime in the US is allegedly larger than the illegal drug markets for cocaine, heroin and cannabis – combined, 33% of all Internet-initiated sex crimes were instigated through social networking sites

1st May 2015
Criminal Justice
What are the priorities for restorative justice?

This would benefit victims, offenders and the wider public. It would have the additional benefit of being popular. Polling shows that 75% of the public think that every victim of crime should have the right to meet their offender. Surely no politician can ignore that level of public support?

30th April 2015
Featured
The Prison Governors’ Association justice priorities

We cannot go on thinking we can imprison our way to a safer society, not only is it poor value for money for the taxpayer, it also fails to recognise the evidence already available that there are better and more cost effective ways to protect the public and reduce reoffending.

28th April 2015
Payment by Results
What’s the future for payment by results?

In my experience, many commissioners are very proud to announce that they are adopting a PbR based contracting system, while just as many are somewhat sheepish about the need to include some element of PbR because it is seen as contributing in some way to the need to reduce commissioning budgets.

27th April 2015
Policing
The world’s first Space Detective Agency

New technologies present new opportunities for law enforcement agencies to catch and prosecute criminals – from Smartphones that can report themselves stolen to the increasingly sophisticated police use of social media for gathering intelligence, investigating crimes and establishing evidence. The Air and Space Evidence Agency uses satellite imagery to assist criminal investigations.

24th April 2015
On Probation
Justice should embrace the treasury

It is this relentless focus on ensuring that everything we do actually achieves our aims that is desperately needed in crime and justice policy. To do something radical such as cutting prison numbers, a new Justice Secretary will need allies and I think the best bet is the Treasury.

23rd April 2015

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