criminal justice

Joint inspection report on the experience of young victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system

Report of the Chief Inspectors of Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) into the treatment of young victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system (CJS). It has been undertaken as part of the criminal justice Chief Inspectors’ joint inspection programme for 2010-11.

Reducing the numbers in custody: looking beyond criminal justice solutions

The second and final paper in the Reform Sector Strategies project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The two papers produced as part of this work intend to generate debate among those committed to reducing the prison population on how to tackle prison expansion in England and Wales and bring about a reduction in the prison population in the longer term.

Criminal justice v. racial justice: minority ethnic overrepresentation in the criminal justice system

The conviction of some of the perpetrators of the murder of Stephen Lawrence at the start of 2012 has led to a renewed focus on the institutional racism in our criminal justice system; institutional racism that meant that the Lawrence family had to wait over 18 years for any form of justice. Media comment has focused on the headline grabbing disparities in the use of stop and search, recruitment and retention in the police service, and access to justice for victims of racist violence. These are the issues that are addressed in this paper.

Rules of engagement: changing the heart of youth justice

The link between social breakdown and crime is well established. In the CSJ’s seminal report Breakthrough Britain, five common drivers of poverty and social breakdown were identified – educational failure, family breakdown, addiction, worklessness and economic dependency, and debt.

In February 2010, the CSJ launched a review of the youth justice system to identify how it might be reformed to improve outcomes for young people, victims and society.

2010/2011 Scottish crime and justice survey: partner abuse

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is a large-scale continuous survey measuring people’s experience and perceptions of crime in Scotland, based on 13,000 in-home face-to-face interviews conducted annually with adults (aged 16 or over) living in private households in Scotland.

The results are presented in a series of reports including this one, which provides information on partner abuse. The 2010/11 survey is the third sweep of the SCJS, with the first having been conducted in 2008/09.