Comment
Time for bold action to downsize criminal justice
The awful events in Paris have sharpened the political conflict over cuts to policing in England and Wales.
During ...
Comment
I would build... society’s capacity to think with compassion, love and understanding
A young man I used to work with in the prison system once asked me if I liked helping offenders. My honest reaction was of disgust. Not that he had asked me the question, but because that is...
News
Can Gove fix criminal justice?
A letter from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is published today in The Independent. It calls for a 'whole-society approach' to preventing and reducing harm,...
Comment
Criminal justice 'transformation': a wolf in sheep's clothing?
Following last week’s Conservative party conference a number of commentators expressed optimism about the tone and emphasis placed by David Cameron and Michael Gove on the need for ‘transformation’.
News
Justice Matters: September update
Time to radically downsize the police?
The prospect of further substantial cuts to police numbers has generated a widespread policy debate about what the role of the police should be and what services they should provide. As Steve White, Chair of the Police Federation for England and...
Comment
I would build… radical strategies for resisting the harms of reform
Abolitionism is a theory and method for dismantling prisons and criminal justice. It is above all concerned with strategising alternatives to imprisonment and, ultimately, in the long term, the eventual eradication of prisons.
News
Building community safety
Ejeris Dixon has outlined the potential role of 'transformative justice' in addressing violence and harm experienced by black people in the US. Writing for the website,...
News
Organising for change - short film
Dr Sarah Lamble of Birkbeck University recently gave a presentation to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies on balancing short term reform goals with long term change. Based on her research and experiences of working in the anti-violence movement, Sarah identifies a number of key challenges...
News
More social workers, fewer police?
Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has called for 'a new approach' in responding to vulnerable and missing teenagers. He emphasised the need to protect children, but questioned whether the police are best placed to do this, reports...
Police corruption, spying and racism conference: 5 and 6 Feb, 2015
On Friday 5 and Saturday 6 February 2015, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and The Monitoring Group held the 'Police corruption, spying and racism' conference at Conway Hall, London. The video footage from many of the sessions are now available to view online via Vimeo and are embedded below.
Comment
I would build...a blueprint for change
When I first started working in the criminal justice voluntary sector around 15 years ago, I did so with the best intentions. From what I’d learned at university and through voluntary work,...
News
Sharp rise in proportion of young BME prisoners
The proportion of black and ethnic minority children and young people held in the youth justice system has increased sharply over the last decade, according to an analysis by ...