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Article Subject: Reform
Do people who get in trouble with the law deserve double punishment?
Many people get in trouble with the law when young, either as teenagers or in… Read more
Only by radically shrinking the magistrates’ court can the Crown Court backlog be reduced
The Treasury in its spending review assigned £477 million to reduce the Crown Court backlog… Read more
The tide is turning – at last there’s progress on criminal justice in the USA
In the UK our prison population doubled in twenty years and became the highest in… Read more
The domestic violence protection order – evidence based policy or policy based evidence?
I am beginning to wonder why the government does any research on justice issues. They… Read more
More in hope than expectation? The government’s digital court reform programme
It is a truth universally acknowledged that the courts need to become more efficient. Saving… Read more
Everyone admits short prison sentences are ineffective, so why do the courts still use them?
Hallelujah! A government minister is openly saying that short prison sentences are a waste of… Read more
Police and court bail policy is a mess
On the face of it, the story broken by the BBC today is alarming –… Read more
Do charities believe in the principle of rehabilitation?
The reputation of aid charities has had a terrible battering recently. They are wounded and… Read more
Do charities believe in the principle of rehabilitation?
The reputation of aid charities has had a terrible battering recently. They are wounded and… Read more
Court closures – trying to get a quart into a pint pot?
How many courts do you need to close before the system grinds to a halt? … Read more
Court closures – trying to get a quart into a pint pot?
How many courts do you need to close before the system grinds to a halt? … Read more
Why is the courts service spending at least £30 million on management consultants?
I had heard through the grapevine that the courts service in England and Wales (HMCTS)… Read more
Crime reduction: are we barking up the wrong tree?
What has Richard Thaler’s Nobel prize got to do with the new Sentencing Council draft… Read more
The only way to reduce the prison population is to recognise that prison is a dead end
The clarion call to reduce the numbers in prison is being heard. Yesterday the Centre… Read more
Should judges be accountable for criminal justice budgets?
This week the blog is an extract from Rethinking Judicial Independence, a think piece we… Read more
Rethinking judicial independence – two blog posts
Today Transform Justice is sending two blog posts, one extracted from our new publication, the… Read more
If we don’t know the impact of any programme, we shouldn’t keep on running it
Learning from failure is good, but not if it takes over twenty years to do… Read more
Appeals are the lifeblood of a functioning criminal justice system, but we may need a transfusion
No system gets everything right, however well intentioned those involved. Our system of underfunded courts… Read more
Our criminal records system is broken and needs radical reform
Currently anyone who was convicted of shop-lifting twice when they were 12 has to declare… Read more
How to increase trust in the family justice system
Damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Judges (and social workers) in the family… Read more
Should the judiciary speak out more?
I don’t often agree wholeheartedly with the Lord Chancellor, but when it comes to who… Read more
The Prisons and Courts Bill – a Pandora’s Box? (2)
Transform Justice has published a briefing on the court reform aspects of the Prisons and Courts… Read more
The new prisons and courts bill – a Pandora’s Box?
The criminal courts charge was a policy fiasco – a charge to be applied to… Read more
Reform of youth justice – a lost opportunity?
Occasionally there is a golden opportunity for radical change and it is seized. Unfortunately, the… Read more
A magistracy in crisis?
The Justice Committee does not use the word crisis in its new report on the… Read more
Court reform: a view from the south
This post is really a homage to “One Wheel on my Wagon” from a criminal… Read more
What court process is really in the best interest of witnesses?
No-one denies that the experience of giving evidence in a criminal trial can be traumatic,… Read more
Our justice system – the finest in the world?
In this best of possible worlds, everything is for the best This panglossian view of… Read more
Are convictions in historic sex abuse cases reliable?
How can anyone judge who is telling the truth now in the case of alleged… Read more
A letter to the new Lord Chancellor
Dear Liz, Welcome to your new role. You are faced with a number of… Read more
Drugs reform: an idea whose time has come?
Our prisons are awash with drugs, as the recent BBC film of Wandsworth prison revealed,… Read more
Should the number of magistrates be more than halved?
Shailesh Vara, the minister for courts, told the Justice Committee last Tuesday that the Ministry… Read more
Do tough sentences deter crime?
Nearly half the British population supports the death penalty and two thirds agree with the… Read more
What problems can problem-solving courts solve?
The government is making plans to re-launch problem-solving courts. These are an American invention, with… Read more
Can we curb our addiction to the short prison sentence?
Prison is a dead end, whatever length of time you are there. The courts in… Read more
Why wholescale reform of the magistracy should come before increasing their ability to use prison
It is an anomaly in the Western world to have judges with no legal training… Read more
Can Gove change the prison debate single handed?
“It is because I am a Conservative that I believe in the rule of law… Read more
Devolution revolution – would it help reduce prison numbers?
England and Wales has one of the most centralised criminal justice systems and one of… Read more
An uncomfortable truth- the strong link between poverty and crime
No-one is saying that poor people commit more crime, or even that poverty causes crime…. Read more
Can we afford an extra 1140 recalls to prison?
Our prison population is too high and predicted to increase. The main driver is sentence… Read more
Can we afford an extra 1140 recalls to prison?
Our prison population is too high and predicted to increase. The main driver is sentence… Read more
How can the Ministry of Justice get out of a massive financial hole?
It was reported in the Times today that Michael Gove is considering imposing a “levy”… Read more
How to reform the criminal courts charge?
It seems clear that the government will reform the criminal court charge but its not… Read more
Why has the criminal courts charge inspired a barrage of criticism?
The Justice Committee wants to know what we think about the criminal courts charge and… Read more
What do victims want from the Crown Prosecution Service?
Political parties have vied to produce policies on how to look after victims and witnesses… Read more
Is the court system collapsing
One of the problems with our justice system is that it is theoretically open, but… Read more
Is the court system collapsing?
One of the problems with our justice system is that it is theoretically open, but… Read more
How did the criminal court charge get through parliament?
There are now many protests about the criminal courts charge – protests that have increased… Read more
Magistrates: crisis what crisis?
No-one wants to publicise bad news. New figures on the number of magistrates show serious… Read more
Is better IT the answer to courtroom chaos?
It was an interesting week for court reform. The Lord Chancellor pronounced himself shocked by… Read more
Unintended consequences of court reform?
Its a cliche to say that government works in silos, but true nonetheless. And those… Read more
We need to put restorative justice centre stage if its ever going to work
There is huge goodwill towards restorative justice, but unfortunately goodwill has not really got it… Read more
The power of a financial incentive in reducing imprisonment
The Lord Chancellor has given CRCs a financial incentive to reduce offending under a payment… Read more
Judges feel they are subject to too much change and insufficient reward
A fascinating study has been published based on a survey of paid judges at every… Read more
can we change the debate on criminal justice?
“Committing a crime is always a choice. That’s why the primary, proper response to crime… Read more
Radical ideas from Leveson – the impact of prisoner transport on criminal courts
The new Leveson report on efficiency in criminal proceedings contains a number of radical ideas. One… Read more
Right on crime – is it only possible for conservatives to do penal reform?
Danny Kruger presented a great programme for BBC Radio 4 on “Right on Crime”, the… Read more
Its all in the implementation
I’m a big picture person and took my eye off the ball after the government… Read more
How to restore local justice
Few think-tanks devote much time to the diminution of local justice. But Politeia has just… Read more
Are courts in chaos?
Two recent articles have given a glimpse of the impact of austerity on magistrates’ courts…. Read more
I’m truly impressed by Ireland’s reform of penal policy
I wouldn’t have known about Ireland’s fantastic new penal policy without twitter – @lukecareypact tweeted… Read more
What to learn from the success of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court?
Why has one type of specialist court succeeded in England and Wales while others have… Read more
Magistrate numbers: terminal decline?
Magistrate numbers are at their lowest level since I’m not sure when. Judiciary figures for… Read more
Why is it so difficult to embed problem-solving courts in England and Wales?
My experience in USA has made me ask why it is so difficult to embed… Read more
Bitten by the specialist court bug?
I think I’ve been bitten by the specialist court bug and need to pinch myself… Read more
Reduction in child custody- a US success story
Its easy to get gloomy about mass incarceration in USA. The numbers are so huge… Read more
How single-minded should those campaigning against the death penalty be?
Sometimes campaigners can stab each other in the back unwittingly. In England and Wales, there… Read more
Are US judges interested in penal reform?
Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project offered a sobering statistic. If the prison population of the… Read more
Interpreters – a duff contract?
When I was a magistrate, interpreters were frequent used to aid defendant, witness or both…. Read more
a piecemeal approach to the fall out from cutting legal aid?
The number of people involved in court or tribunal cases who don’t have a lawyer… Read more
Justice reinvestment – the holy grail for criminal justice reform?
The most effective means of reducing offending lie outside the remit of the justice system. … Read more
When is a pilot not a pilot?
Post riots, the Ministry of Justice announced that they were going to pilot more flexible… Read more
Who shot JR?
Can justice reinvestment be successful in a very centralised political system? That was the question… Read more
A seemingly dry document?
A lot of the documents coming out of the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial… Read more
A new dawn for Labour justice policy?
Sadiq Khan, Shadow Justice Minister, addressed the Labour Party Conference this week. The speech didn’t… Read more
Better courts: do they need structural change?
Courts in England and Wales get a bad press, being seen as inefficient, old fashioned… Read more
No privatisation of the courts…or is there?
In late May the Times revealed that the government was planning to privatise courts administration…. Read more
Is post-code sentencing inevitable?
There will always be some differences between courts in their sentencing. An Inner London court… Read more