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The growing problem of Cybercrime
Some of the key claims made about cybercrime in the US which, unsurprisingly, appears to be growing rapidly year on year are: 378 million victims per year (includes a lot of repeat victimisation); 30,000 websites hacked every day; Mobile devices most at risk

Funding uncertain for residential drug & alcohol treatment
One third of commissioners expected to reduce spending on residential treatment and it’s hard not to think that this would be a much higher figure if the survey had been done after the Chancellor’s recent statement about unprecedented cuts in public services. It seems that the future of drug and alcohol residential treatment is at best uncertain and at worst likely to shrink considerably.

First inspection of new probation
The inspectors made a total of 67 recommendations to address the concerns they identified. It is too early to say whether these issues are teething problems inevitable given the massive change that TR involves or fundamental flaws that will get worse over time. It will be intriguing to see whether performance improves or deteriorates when new providers take over CRCs in early 2015.

Crime pays for private prisons
The infographic below shows what big business private prisons have become in the USA. As you can see, the number of private prisons has grown exponentially in the last 20 years.

Do Social Impact Bonds work?
As we have come to expect, there are significant benefits to the SIB approach but also some serious challenges. Most stakeholders involved in SIBs, especially service providers, had a positive experience to the extent that most see themselves as likely to be involved in delivering Social Impact Bonds in the future. The Payment by Results approach places an intense focus on outcomes and greater impact for beneficiaries.

Drug offences and the death penalty
A recent chilling report on the Talking Drugs website which found that over half the 58 countries in the world that still have the death penalty have made it applicable to people who have committed non–violent drug crimes.
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Russell has over 20 years’ experience as a researcher and consultant specialising in substance misuse and crime.
Prison, probation, police, substance misuse, commissioning & payment by results.
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