We want our policy and influencing work to accurately reflect the experiences of voluntary organisations working in criminal justice. To do this, we are launching a consultation process to understand which policy areas have the most impact on the people you support and the delivery of your services.

As set out in Creating Change together: Our strategy for 2019 – 2022, we are committed to finding ways in which our policy work can be based on the needs and priorities of our sector, and ensure that our responses to the government are informed by up-to-date information.

Our work to inform government policy is underpinned by a set of core principles which reflect the key issues raised by our members. In September 2017 we published Clinks Thinks: Criminal Justice policy and the voluntary sector, a briefing which sets out these core principles on topics such as reducing the prison population, strengthening the sector’s voice, tackling racism and discrimination, encouraging creativity and inspiration, and many others. Read more about this here.

Since the publication of Clinks Thinks, the political and policy environment has been turbulent, the criminal justice landscape has gone through a number of significant changes and, we know from our own research that the needs of people in the criminal justice system have been growing more complex and urgent. More recently, Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the criminal justice system, the people caught in it and the voluntary sector that work to support them.

Take the survey now

We want to hear your thoughts on our current policy priorities, and find out what else you would like to see Clinks advocate for on behalf of the voluntary sector working in criminal justice.

The survey takes just 5-10 minutes to complete – link here. Thank you in advance for taking the time to contribute.

What happens next?

What you tell us will help inform our future influencing activity and a new edition of Clinks Thinks which we aim to publish in 2021.

Following the survey, we will continue to work with the sector to refine our policy priorities and messages and hope to have further discussions through our criminal justice forums and thematic networks.

If you have any questions about this work or want to get more involved in the consultation process please contact sophie.campion@clinks.org.