Driving systemic change in the criminal justice system
The Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) is a network of over 200 non-profit organisations including charities, social enterprises, think tanks, research institutions and staff associations. They work across the criminal justice system, in areas such as crime prevention, sentencing, policing, prisons, probation, victim services, mental health, drug policy and treatment, and more. We have recently also opened up our membership to individual academics to support greater connections between research, policy and practice.
As a member of the CJA you / your organisation will gain opportunities to amplify your work, broaden your impact, and make the changes that you want to see in the criminal justice system.
The annual fee for membership of the CJA covers everything. There are no extra costs to members for any of the benefits, including attendance at events and advertising vacancies.
Part of the beauty of being a member of the Criminal Justice Alliance is that you can learn from the good practice and successes of others working across the criminal justice sector.
We don’t have a policy and campaigns team, so we rely on organisations like the Criminal Justice Alliance to amplify our voice and raise key issues with policy makers on our behalf.
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Scroll down to access the CJA Membership Application.
CJA Membership Benefits
As member of the CJA, your organisation will be able to …
Influence policy
– The CJA co-produces responses to Parliamentary and government consultations with our members, ensuring that their experiences and expertise are heard by policymakers.
– At our quarterly Members Meetings we are frequently joined by sector leaders, providing members with the opportunity to speak directly to influential people. We have previously welcomed government ministers, Chief Inspectors, Police and Crime Commissioners, the Victims’ Commissioner and senior government officials.
Read our co-produced submissions to Parliamentary inquiriesPromote your work
– We send out a biweekly CJA Members News Bulletin to promote the recent achievements of members.
– The CJA is frequently approached by mainstream media outlets covering criminal justice issues, and we provide journalists with recommendations of members whose work is relevant to their request.
– We share our members’ work with our Twitter audience of over 15.6K followers.
Meet a CJA memberJoin a CJA Expert Group
– The CJA hosts several Expert Groups. Our Expert Groups contribute to our policy work according to their respective area of expertise, including workforce diversity, restorative justice and practice, lived experience.
Read how our Lived Experience Expert Group contributed to ELEVATE CJSConnect with other members at exclusive events
– The quarterly CJA Members Meeting is an opportunity for members to connect with each other, sharing experiences and knowledge on a prominent issue or topic.
Read about our recent Members Meeting on ResettlementStay up-to-date with criminal justice policy and sector news
– The biweekly CJA Member News Bulletin shares good practice by CJA Members. You will also receive our Policy News Bulletin biweekly so you can stay informed of the latest criminal justice policy developments. .
Receive regular criminal justice research updates
– The CJA Research News Bulletin shares the newest criminological and sociological research produced by our members and others.
Read a CJA Research News BulletinAttend exclusive CJA member-only events
– The CJA hosts a range of exclusive events for members, including project launches, conferences, meetings with policymakers, and more.
– The first CJA Annual Research Symposium will take place in March 2023.
Read about the launch event of ELEVATE CJSI love the quality of communications and information. It’s solid, meaty and really informative.
I also love the passion, the focus and the drive that is evident in the CJA.
Clean Sheet
Membership criteria
Full membership
If your organisation would like to become a member of the CJA, it must:
- Share the CJA’s vision of a fair and effective criminal justice system.
- Support the CJA’s mission to achieve sustainable, systemic change, through the collective power of our membership network.
- Agree to the CJA holding its current campaigning and policy positions.
- Agree to support and contribute to the work of the CJA.
- Agree to abide by the CJA’s procedures for developing policy positions and signing off outputs.
- Agree to abide by the conditions of membership set out in the CJA’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- Be a not-for-profit organisation.
- Not pose an unacceptable risk to the reputation or operation of the CJA.
Associate membership
Associate members- including associate organisational members and associate academic members- do not sign up to the policy positions or campaign goals of the alliance. In turn they are not eligible to vote on matters of the CJA. They are not able to sign off policy statements nor are they able to direct policy direction of the CJA. They will however receive the weekly bulletin and have access to our regular events.
Our Board of Trustees considers each application at their quarterly meetings. Meeting the above criteria does not guarantee membership.
Membership fees
The CJA does not receive public funds in order to maintain its independence. Alongside support from trusts and foundations, membership fees are an important source of funding for the CJA to carry out its vital work. We are keen that CJA membership is set at an affordable rate for your organisation. The fee you pay for membership will depend on your organisation’s turnover. The current annual membership fees are:
| Turnover | Annual Membership Fee |
| Less than £50,000 | £45.00 |
| £50,000 to £500,000 | £65.00 |
| £500,000 to £1,000,000 | £90.00 |
| £1,000,000 to £10,000,000 | £155.00 |
| More than £10,000,000 | £290.00 |
The annual fee for an Associate Academic membership is £25. This category of membership was introduced in December 2022 to allow individual academics to become a member of CJA.
Membership fees are reviewed by the Board of Trustees on an annual basis. In 2019, the lowest fee tier was introduced to help small organisations. In 2020/21 and 2021/22, we froze our membership fees to support all members during and following the pandemic.
Apply to be a member