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Criminal Justice Alliance News | Member news | Events | Jobs
Criminal Justice Alliance news
The latest news from the Criminal Justice Alliance is listed below.
22 July 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance has published a discussion paper ‘Criminal Justice and government at a time of austerity’, by David Faulkner, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford Centre for Criminology. The paper considers the state of criminal justice as it has developed in England over the last 15–20 years, the assumptions and policies which have led to that situation, and the issues facing the coalition government which took office in May 2010. It then reviews the wider context of policy making and governance which affects public services of all kinds, and the implications of the period of austerity which must now be expected in all areas of public expenditure. Radical changes which have been needed for some time may now be easier to achieve, not only in criminal justice, but also in what the country expects from its public services, in the style and scope of government, and perhaps in the nation’s attitudes to social and political issues and the means of dealing with them. Download a shorter version here and an extended analysis here.21 July 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance is recruiting an intern to help with our campaigning and policy work. This internship will be an opportunity to get hands on experience of policy, research and campaigning work, as well as gaining general experience of working in a small campaigning organisation. We aim to make our internships as interesting and as useful for our interns as possible. For further details about the internship and the application form, click here. If you have any questions about the internship or the application form, please do not hesitate to contact Jon at jon.collins@criminaljusticealliance.org or at 020 7840 1207.15 July 2010
Jon commented on the annual crime statistics. To read the comment, click here. It was covered on the BBC News website, click here, and on the BBC Nottingham website, click here.15 July 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance’s recent briefing ‘Criminal justice: Areas for action’ was mentioned by Lord Thomas of Gresford in a House of Lords debate on reform of the criminal justice system on 15 July 2010. To read the debate, click here. To download the briefing, click here.10 July 2010
Jon did an interview on Sky News on Saturday 10 July, discussing drugs in prison and links between the prison service and the police, as part of the coverage of the Raoul Moat case.30 June 2010
The criminal justice system in England and Wales is in crisis. The cost of the system has grown dramatically in recent years, yet prisons are dangerously overcrowded, the public’s confidence in the system is low, and reoffending rates remain high. A fresh approach to criminal justice policy is long overdue, and this Criminal Justice Alliance briefing 'Criminal Justice: Areas for Action' suggests twelve problem areas within the adult criminal justice system that need urgent attention in the new parliament. To download, click here.June 2010
In an online discussion, Jon asked Labour leadership candidate David Miliband, “If elected leader would you review Labour's law and order policies with a view to reducing the use of prison and promoting more effective alternative sentences served in the community?” Miliband replied: “We certainly need to make community sentences work better. One thing I am interested in is so called "restorative justice" where individuals have to make amends for their crimes to their victims. I first came across this in the 1990s in the Thames Valley. Would like to know more about it. If you have ideas please send them to team@davidmiliband.net or visit www.davidmiliband.net”. To read, click here.23 June 2010
The CJA’s letter in response to Polly Toynbee’s article ‘Budget 2010: Forget being tough, it's time to get realistic on crime’, was published in the Guardian, here.18 June 2010
Jon wrote an opinion piece in The Times arguing that we should send fewer people to prison, saying that we simply cannot afford to warehouse thousands of people in prison who could be better dealt with in the community. In response, MP Philip Davies argued that we should be thinking of extending sentences, not shortening them. To read, click here. (subscription required)17 June 2010
In an online discussion, Jon asked Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham, “If elected leader would you review Labour's law and order policies with a view to reducing the use of prison and promoting more effective alternative sentences served in the community?” Burnham replied: “I have long advocated the need to look at better use of community sentences, particularly for first-time offenders or for lower-level crimes. We need new kinds of community sentences that are not seen as a soft option, but they need to help the rehabilitation process too. We also need to look at the cause of the criminality. There are too many people in our prisons with undiagnosed or untreated mental health problems. As Health Secretary, I put extra funding to help those with mental health issues in prison but we need to do more to tackle this, as well as offer better treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. Surely it is better to spend money helping people get their lives back on track, than to spend it on keeping them in prison?” To read, click here.14 June 2010
The CJA’s press release, here, following Ken Clarke’s signals of a 'more sensible' prison sentencing policy was picked up in a Guardian article, here, and Jon also did an interview with BBC Radio Nottingham.June 2010
Inside Time produced an article based on Jon’s recent presentation on the criminal justice system. To read, click here.8 June 2010
Jon attended a LGiU parliamentary reception on local government, where Eric Pickles discussed his priorities for the Department of Communities and Local Government. For a brief write-up click here.18 May 2010
Jon gave a presentation on ‘Understanding the Criminal Justice System’ at a Centre for Parliamentary Studies event on 18 May. To download the slides, click here.14 May 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance has published a briefing on the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government summarising what we know to date about the new government's priorities on crime and criminal justice, and the relevant personnel. It also looks at some further possible areas of agreement. To download the briefing, click here.7 May 2010
The CJA is on twitter. Follow us @cjalliance for the latest on criminal justice reform here.4 May 2010
Jon has written an article for Nacro on Justice reinvestment, prison policy and the post-election world. To read, click here.14 April 2010
The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat election manifestos were published on Monday 12 April, Tuesday 13 April and Wednesday 14 April respectively. This Criminal Justice Alliance briefing examines their proposals on crime and criminal justice issue-by-issue and then sets out, by party, the manifestos' contents on law and order. To download, click here.8 April 2010
The CJA has updated its briefings on what we know so far about the Conservative Party's and Liberal Democrats' crime and criminal justice policies, ahead of the publication of their formal election manifestos. The new briefing on the Conservative Party is available here and the new briefing on the Liberal Democrats is available here.26 March 2010
With a general election now expected on 6 May, this members' briefing, 'What have the Liberal Democrats proposed on law and order?' summarises the information available to date on the Liberal Democrats' crime and criminal justice policies. To download, click here.24 March 2010
The Ministry of Justice has published the latest NOMS performance ratings for Quarter 3 of 2009/10. 2 probation areas have improved their performance since the previous quarter, with none seeing a drop in performance. 3 prisons have improved compared to the previous quarter, with 4 having seen a drop in performance. 13 prisons were rated as a four, the highest ranking, compared to 14 in the previous quarter. To download the statistics, click here. To download a comparison with previous statistics, prepared by the CJA, click here for probation and here for prisons.19 March 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance has updated its briefing on the Conservatives' crime and criminal justice policy agenda. To download the
updated briefing, click here.10 March 2010
The CJA commented on the NAO report on short prison sentences. To read click here. The comment was quoted on the BBC website here and in the Guardian here. Jon did radio interviews on BBC Radio Leeds, talkSPORT and ‘SunTalk’, the Sun’s internet radio station.8 March 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance has joined with The Fawcett Society and over 40 other organisations in a pre-election campaign to ask all the parties ‘What about women?'. The campaign has submitted a range of questions on how the parties policies will impact on women and women’s equality. Click here for more information on the campaign.6 March 2010
Jon has written an article for Criminal Law & Justice Weekly (formerly Justice of the Peace) on prison overcrowding. To read, click here.25 February 2010
Jon writes about the encouraging progress in the youth justice system shown in the recent Government figures and examines some of the reasons behind the fall in the number of first time entrants into the system and the fall in the number in custody. To read the blog, click here.24 February 2010
Jon Collins, Campaign Director, commented on the Chief Inspector of Prisons' annual report, which warned that prisons in England and Wales risk becoming unstable because of chronic overcrowding and budget cuts. He says, 'this report should act as a timely reminder that prisons policy needs a radical change in direction'. To read the full statement, click here. Jon was quoted in the Financial Times. To read the article, click here.4 February 2010
Jon attended a roundtable hosted by Sunita Mason, the Independent Advisor for Criminality Information Management, who is carrying out a review for the Home Office of policy on retaining and disclosing records held on the Police National Computer. The terms of reference are available here. If you would like to find out more about this or contribute to this review, please contact Jon by email or on 020 7840 1207 for more information. The review will report by the end of this month, so any contribution will have to be made very soon.3 February 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance has produced a briefing which aims to summarise what we know to date about the Conservatives' crime and criminal justice policy agenda, as well as providing links to relevant policy documents, speeches and media articles. We will be updating it as the election gets closer. To download the briefing, click here.February 2010
The Criminal Justice Alliance gave evidence to New Philanthropy Capital for their new report 'Trial and Error: Children and young people in trouble with the law'. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.31 January 2010
Jon has written a letter arguing that prison ships, recently proposed by the Conservatives, should not be seen as a solution to the criminal justice system's problems. To read the letter in the Observer, click here.21 January 2010
Jon responds to an article by Martin Kettle in the Guardian saying, 'at a time when the criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform, the justice committee has conducted a thorough and wide-ranging review of policy, something that the government and opposition have conspicuously failed to do.' To read, click here.13 January 2010
Jon Collins, Campaign Director, commented on the Justice Committee's new report 'Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment'. He says, ‘this report provides whichever party wins the forthcoming general election with a comprehensive blueprint for reform'. To read the full statement, click here. Jon was quoted in Community Care. To read the article, click here.13 January 2010
Jon has written an article examining the implications of the Conservatives announcement to drop proposals to build 5,000 additional prison places, on top of those planned by the current government for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. Read the article here.7 January 2010
The CJA has responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation 'Knowing or reckless misuse of personal data - introducing custodial sentences'. The consultation paper proposes custodial sanctions for those found guilty of knowingly or recklessly obtaining, disclosing, selling or procuring the disclosure of personal data without the consent of the data controller. The CJA's response argues that custodial sentences would not be appropriate for these offences. To read it, click here.14 December 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has today published 'Transforming Justice: New approaches to the criminal justice system', a collection of essays proposing potential routes to reform of the criminal justice system. In response to the range of challenges facing the criminal justice system, the Criminal Justice Alliance has asked experts on penal policy - including academics, campaigners and politicians - to put forward a series of potential reforms that could have a significant impact on the criminal justice system. The contributors to the collection are Professor Nicola Lacey, who proposes a Royal Commission to identify a future direction for the criminal justice system; David Howarth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice for the Liberal Democrats, who proposes a National Institute for Criminal Justice Excellence; Professor Mike Hough, Director of the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, and Dr Jessica Jacobson, who discuss the benefits of a Sentencing Council for England and Wales; Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP for Harwich and Clacton, who proposes elected local 'sheriffs' to oversee all aspects of criminal justice policy; Amelia Walker, Head of Centre for Service Transformation at the Local Government Information Unit, who sets out proposals for localised 'primary justice'; Rob Allen, Director of the International Centre for Prison Studies, who discusses the potential of justice reinvestment; Chris Igoe, Information and Policy Officer at the Restorative Justice Consortium, who examines the evidence supporting a greater use of restorative justice; and Richard Garside, Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, who discusses the need to tackle inequality. To read the report, click here. To read the accompanying press release, click here.25 November 2009
The Transition to Adulthood Alliance launched their young adult manifesto, to which the CJA contributed. It contains 10 recommendations aimed to make the way in which we deal with young adult offenders more effective, fairer and less costly. They include the recognition of young adults (aged 18–24) as a distinct group, more use of diversion, less use of custody and better resettlement support. To download the report, click here. To download the accompanying economic analysis of alternative interventions for young adult offenders, click here.20 November 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation on the future of the parole board. To read the response, click here.18 November 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance commented on the Chief Inspector of Prisons' report on HMYOI Portland, which described conditions in the young offenders' institution as 'filthy and squalid'. To read the comment, click here. We were quoted on the BBC website (to read the article, click here) and in the Morning Star (click here).13 November 2009
Jack Straw's announcement of a minimum jail sentence, coming as it did after the Kinsella convictions, seems to lack rationale says Jon in an article for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. To read the article, click here.9 November 2009
Jon has written an article saying plans to stop ex-offenders making money from writing about their crimes could damage rehabilitation for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. For more details, click here.3 November 2009
Jon has written an article on Drinking Banning Orders, also known as 'Booze-Asbos', for the Stand Up Tall Project website. To read the article, click here.2 November 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has commented on the Centre for Social Justice's report on sentencing and the courts. To read the comment, click here.21 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was mentioned in a House of Lords debate on the Coroners and Justice Bill, in discussions about introducing financial support for bereaved families to participate in and be legally represented at inquests relating to deaths in state custody. To read the debate, click here. To read the Criminal Justice Alliance's letter to Jack Strw in this issue, click here.19 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was a signatory to a letter in The Times opposing proposed measures on 'criminal memoirs' contained in the Coroners and Justice Bill. To read the letter, click here.16 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has produced a briefing on the Coroners and Justice Bill for the Report Stage in the House of Lords. To download the briefing, click here.15 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance co-hosted a roundtable event with the CCJS on the National DNA database for its members and invited guests to examine the issues arising from the National DNA Database which are of immediate concern to those working in the criminal justice sector. Mick Carling of the NPIA, Home Office and Helen Wallace of Genewatch, spoke about recent developments around the database, the recent Government consultation and issues of concern.8 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance hosted a consultation meeting to discuss the recommendations of ‘A New Start - Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System’, a report by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance on improving the criminal justice system for young adults aged 18-24. To read the report, click here.6 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance commented on the Prison Governors' Association's call to scrap short prison sentences. To read the comment, click here.5 October 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation on the draft regulations for the introduction of means testing for criminal legal aid in the Crown Court. To read the response, click here.29 September 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance responded to the second Ministry of Justice consultation on prisoners voting rights. The CJA response maintained that all prisoners should be enfranchised, regardless of the length of their custodial sentence. To read, click here.28 August 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance commented on the latest prison population projections. To read the comment, click here.25 August 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance commented on figures released by the Prison Reform Trust showing that two-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded. To read the comment, click here.17 August 2009
Susanna Siddiqui has joined the Criminal Justice Alliance as Policy and Campaigns Officer.5 August 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has responded to the Sentencing Advisory Panel's consultation paper on sentencing for burglary in a dwelling. The CJA supported proposals for an offender with an addiction to receive a community order, but encouraged the Panel to consider reducing the starting points for sentences for adults and for young people currently proposed in the Paper. To read the response, click here.31 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has responded to the Government’s consultation paper on 'Engaging Communities in Criminal Justice'. The CJA welcomed proposals to make the criminal justice system more open to the public and to increase public understanding of the criminal justice system, providing that they will not be detrimental to the reform and rehabilitation of offenders. To read the response, click here.15 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has responded to the Sentencing Advisory Panel’s consultation paper on sentencing for drug offences. The CJA supports the Panel's proposals to reduce the length of prison sentences for people convicted of drug offences, but urges them to consider further reducing the starting points for drug offences in line with the lack of evidence of a deterrent effect of severe sentencing and the well-established damaging effects of imprisonment. To read the submission, click here.15 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was mentioned in a House of Lords debate on the Coroners and Justice Bill. To read the relevant part of the debate, click here.13 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was a signatory to a letter in the Guardian calling for improvements in the way we deal with young adults in conflict with the law. To read the letter, click here.13 July 2009
The Transition to Adulthood Alliance, which the Criminal Justice Alliance has contributed to, has published its initial report, 'A New Start: Young Adults in the Criminal Justice System'. The report contains 21 new and innovative proposals aimed at changing the way that Britain deals with young adult crime. For more details, click here. To download the report, click here. The T2A Alliance is consulting on the proposals ahead of publishing a final report in the autumn. For more details, click here.6 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has produced a briefing on the proposals for a Sentencing Council for the Committee Stage of the Coroners and Justice Bill in the House of Lords. To download the briefing, click here.3 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has received a response from Ministry of Justice minister Bridget Prentice MP to the letter signed by 35 leading criminal justice and human rights organisation calling for the Coroners and Justice Bill to be amended to introduce financial support for bereaved families to participate in and be legally represented at inquests relating to deaths in state custody. To read the response, click here. To read the original letter, click here.1 July 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Andrew Bridges, HM Chief Inspector of Probation. To read his speech, click here.9 June 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has published an open letter to Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Justice, calling on him to amend the Coroners and Justice Bill to introduce financial support for bereaved families to participate in and be legally represented at inquests relating to deaths in state custody. The letter is signed by 35 leading criminal justice and human rights organisations. To read the letter click here and to read the accompanying press release, click here. The letter was mentioned in the House of Lords debate on the Bill. Click here to read the debate.8 June 2009
Jon wrote an article on 'Prison Expansion. Back to the drawing board?' for the latest edition of cjm, published today. For more details, click here.29 May 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has obtained new data on Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection from the Ministry of Justice. It shows that by the end of March 2009, 5,243 people had been given an IPP, and 58 people had been released. Over the last six months, 74 people on average have been sentenced to an IPP per month, and fewer than four people (3.66) have been released on average each month. To see the full figures, click here.18 May 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was mentioned in the debate on the Coroners and Justice Bill in the House of Lords. To read the debate, click here.13 May 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has produced a briefing for the second reading of the Coroners and Justice Bill in the House of Lords. To download the briefing, click here.29 April 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Edward Garnier QC MP, Shadow Justice Minister for the Conservative Party.25 April 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance was quoted on Titan prisons in the Independent. Click here to read the article.24 April 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance commented on the Government's decision to abandon plans for Titan prisons. To read the comment, click here. The Criminal Justice Alliance was quoted on the BBC website. Click here to read the article.21 April 2009
The CJA organised a seminar with Maria Eagle MP to examine the progress that has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Corston report and discuss the priorities for future work to improve the criminal justice system for women. A summary of the discussion will be available soon.7 April 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance had a letter published in The Times. To read the letter, click here.25 February 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with David Howarth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice for the Liberal Democrats.22 January 2009
The Criminal Justice Alliance has produced a briefing for the second reading of the Coroners and Justice Bill in the House of Commons. To download the briefing, click here.27 December 2008
Jon wrote an article opposing Titan prisons for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. To read the article, click here.17 October 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance has received a response from the Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, to our open letter on Titan prisons. To read the response, click here. To read the original letter, click here.7 October 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service.23 September 2008
Jon wrote an article on the Government's prison population projections for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. To read the article, click here.6 September 2008
Jon wrote an article on reoffending rates for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. To read the article, click here.28 August 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance has published an open letter to Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Justice, on Titan prisons, signed by 35 leading criminal justice organisations. To read the letter click here, and to read the accompanying press release, click here.28 August 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance has submitted a response to the Ministry of Justice’s Consultation Paper on Titan prisons. It argues that the Government’s case for Titan prisons has not been effectively made and that Titan prisons are a wholly unwelcome development. To download it, click here.6 August 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance met with the consultation team to discuss the Ministry of Justice's consultation paper on Titan prisons.5 August 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance had a letter published in the Guardian. To read the letter, click here.
18 July 2008
Jon wrote an article on Titan prisons for the Guardian's Comment is Free website. To read the article, click here.16 June 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance has moved offices. We are now based at Park Place, 10-12 Lawn Lane, London, SW8 1UD. For full contact details, click here.24 April 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Lord Justice Gage. Lord Justice Gage is chairing the Sentencing Commission Working Group, which is examining proposals for a structured sentencing framework and Sentencing Commission. Click here for more details on their work.3 March 2008
Jon Collins has joined the Criminal Justice Alliance as Campaign Director, leading the Alliance's campaign to end prison overcrowding.29 January 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Nick Herbert MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice. Nick discussed the Conservative Party's review of prisons and sentencing.24 January 2008
The Criminal Justice Alliance today held a meeting with Rt Hon David Hanson MP, Minister of State for Justice, who discussed the Government's proposals in response to the Carter and Corston reports.