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In this month's edition...
We have now completed the latest round of recruitment for the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) and are pleased to announce our newest members.
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Nicola Drinkwater, Director of External Affairs and Campaigns at Women in Prison, is now the Women’s seat holder and will be taking on the role of chairing Clinks’ Women’s Network Forum
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Richard Knibbs, Head of Justice & Health at Nacro, is the new Resettlement Seat holder
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The mental health seat will be held by Matina Marougka, Head of Regional Operations at Together for Mental Wellbeing
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Cara Mohan-Carr, Leading Training and Development Coordination at Children Heard and Seen, is the new Families seat holder
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In the Youth Justice seat is Jess Mullen, incoming CEO of the Alliance for Youth Justice
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For the first time, the group has a seat representing Arts organisations working in the criminal justice system, this will be held by Catrina McHugh MBE, Joint Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Open Clasp Theatre
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Josh Stunnell, Founder and CEO of bthechange, has moved from holding the Small Organisations seat to hold now holding one of the two seats for organisations led by or focused on racially minoritised people.
We would like to thank all applicants for their time, and all previous group members for their contributions. Following the RR3’s quarterly meeting this week, there will be a further round of recruitment as the group expands. The new seats which will be added are: older people in prison, lived experience, and a seat representing people serving long sentences.
In February, we submitted to the Sentencing Council’s consultation on the imposition of community and custodial sentences guidelines. Read our submission online here
Spring Budget 2024 | Last week's Spring Budget included announcements on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) budget for 2024/25. Capital spending will increase from £1.5 billion to £1.8 billion, meaning there is more money available for fixed assets. However there will be a 4.8% cut in operational spending, from £10.5 billion to £10 billion. Overall, day-to-day spending for several departments, including the MoJ, will fall by 13% between 2024/25 and 2028/29. The government has committed £75 million (over three years from 2025) to expand the Violence Reduction Unit model across England and Wales, alongside £800 million for "productivity initiatives outside the NHS". In Justice, this equates to:
- £230 million for pilot schemes of policing technology (such as facial recognition), automating the triage of 101 calls and "deploying drones as first responders".
- £55 million for Family Courts to offer online guidance and earlier legal advice
- £100 million for prison to "support rehabilitative activities".
- A Centre for Policy Productivity – will be established, aiming to "improve data quality" and to support the implementation of "promising technologies" will also be established.
Notification of details for Community and Suspended Sentences | Ruth Jones, the Labour MP for Newport West, has brought in a private member's Bill to amend the Sentencing Code 2020 to create a duty on people who have committed offences to notify the responsible officer of any change of name or contact details if they are sentenced to a community order, a suspended sentence order, a youth rehabilitation order, or a referral order. This would capture not just formal, legal changes of name, but also the use of an online alias. The Bill had its Second Reading debate on Friday 23 February. Both the Opposition and Government front benches indicated support for the Bill and it progressed to Committee Stage without a division.
Prison Media Bill | Katherine Fletcher, the Conservative MP for South Ribble, is sponsoring a private member's Bill to prohibit the creation and uploading of unauthorised media content relating to prisons. The Bill aims to tighten the law around posting content created inside prisons online, by criminalising the unauthorised uploading of media of the inside of a prison by people in the community, clarifying the illegality of the filming of the inside of a prison from the outside (such as by using a drone), and creating a new offence of creating media of prison workers on prison land without authorisation. The Bill has government support. It received its Second Reading without debate on Friday 1 March 2024, and has now been committed to a public bill committee.
Prison Population Projections | The Ministry of Justice has published the latest prison population projections, covering 2023 to 2028. The central projection for the prison population in March 2028 is 105,800 people. The projection is based on factors including continued growth in police charging and prosecutorial activity, falling outstanding caseloads in the Crown Court, and changes in sentencing policy keep people convicted of certain offences in prison for longer. The total prison population for March 2025 is now estimated to be 1,800 higher than the 2022 to 2027 projections, based on the central estimate. The difference is predominantly driven by a higher starting remand population that is expected to begin falling later than previously projected. The forecast also finds the population of adult men and women and people aged over 50 are all expected to increase over the projection period due to the same underlying factors.
Prisons
Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile February 2024 | The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) has published its latest Bromley Briefing, highlighting the latest facts and figures in relation to prisons. Key facts revealed include the average prison sentence for serious indictable offences are now almost two years longer than in 2010 and the use of community sentences have more than halved in only a decade, despite their proven effectiveness. Almost 10,000 people serving a sentence of less than twelve months were recalled to prison in the year to June 2023, over a third more than the previous year. People on remand account for more than one in six of the prison population, and the remand population is currently at its highest level in at least 50 years.
Resolving the Imprisonment for Public Protection Crisis | The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies has published a report alongside a five-point plan to resolve the injustice of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence. The report aims to highlight the depth of the crisis caused by the government’s neglect of evidence regarding the harmful effects of the IPP sentence, evaluate the government’s Action Plan and recent announcements, and propose an agenda for action for implementing meaningful and necessary reforms. The five-point plan calls on the UK government to release those serving this sentence who are the most distressed on compassionate grounds, launch a recovery and reparations programme, ease restrictions on those serving time beyond their tariffs, commit to reviewing all forms of preventative detention, and complete a re-sentencing exercise as soon as possible.
Staffing
The impact of recruitment and retention on the criminal justice system | A new efficiency report by the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates highlights the how staff retention issues, alongside wider challenges such as court backlogs, have seriously hindered the criminal justice system’s ability to deliver a high-quality service. Whilst prison and probation services have shown positive examples of recruitment strategies, they have lost experienced staff who cannot be easily replaced, placing significant burdens on other staff. The report highlights the need for consideration to be given to the operating model through which services are delivered to ensure staff have safe and manageable caseloads, as well as a long-term commitment to probation service resources, particularly in relation to mental health, drug services, and accommodation.
Charities
The true cost of delivering public services | The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) published a report looking at the cost of delivering public services to the voluntary sector, drawing on survey responses from 331 voluntary organisations. It highlights the sector’s crucial role in addressing community needs with flexibility and tailored support, filling service-gaps, fostering long-term relations, and advocating for systemic change. However, insufficient and uncertain funding challenges voluntary organisations' ability to deliver services effectively. The report affirms that long-term funding that covers the true costs is essential for stability and impactful partnerships with authorities. With adequate funding, charities can enrich communities and improve systemic structures.
Political campaigning as a charity | The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) has published guidance on political campaigning as a charity, highlighting elections as a key opportunity for organisations to further their charitable goals. The guidance highlights key issues in charity and electoral law, alongside guidance to help organisations feel more confident to achieve maximum impact.
Charity Commission Strategy 2024-2029 | The Charity Commission for England and Wales has launched its five-year strategy for 2024-2029, setting out its core purpose and strategic priorities. This embeds the regulator’s ambition to be fair, balanced and independent in setting our five key priorities, which are: to be fair and proportionate, and clear about its role; to support charities to get it right, while taking robust actions where it sees wrongdoing and harm; to speak with authority and credibility, free from influence of others; to embrace technological innovate and strengthen data usage; and to be an expert Commission where its people are empowered and enabled to deliver excellence in regulation.
Youth Justice
Open justice and children in the criminal justice system | The National Association for Youth Justice (NAYJ) has published a paper exploring the issue of publicly naming children in contact with the criminal justice system. The NAYJ believes that all children should be entitled as a matter of law to privacy when they come into contact with the system, and this should continue when they turn 18. The report analyses the limitations of open justice and the impact of new proposals on children, such as its significant risk to a child’s rehabilitation, as well as psychological harm and negative impacts on access to education, work, and housing upon release. Whilst open justice can ensure greater transparency in decision-making and sentencing, this must be secondary to protecting the welfare of children and their re-integration into society.
UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendations for the UK Government | In partnership with Unicef UK and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) has published a series of briefings to help parliamentarians and civil society hold the government to account, to ensure the UN Committee on Rights of the Child’s latest Concluding Observations on the UK are taken forward. The Concluding Observations set out the UN Committee’s verdict on how well the UK is respecting children’s rights in the UK. In relation to children in contact with the criminal justice system, the report expressed deep concern about the "draconian and punitive nature" of youth justice and urged the UK to utilise early intervention and non-judicial measures, as well as the use of non-custodial measures.
The impact of Covid-19 on children’s mental health and well-being | The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice has published a study examining Covid-19's impact on youth in the UK justice system. Drawing from interviews with 140 professionals, participatory research with 40 children, and a survey of 157 youth offending teams, findings reveal heightened vulnerabilities among justice-involved children. The pandemic exacerbated existing challenges including health anxieties, instability, inequalities, and experiences of racism and exclusion. Both professionals and children noted increased mental health issues like anxiety and depression, attributed to factors such as isolation, disrupted routines, and lack of physical activity. Urgent systemic action is needed post-pandemic to address the mental health needs of these children.
Policing
Crime resolution tracker | Transform Justice have published a tracker looking at how effective different police forces are at resolving crime without going to court. This includes cautions, community resolutions, deferred prosecution, or full diversion from the justice system. This interactive tool is based on Home Office published data on police recorded crime and outcomes. The ranking focuses on "positive outcomes" only - charge, out of court resolutions, deferred prosecution and diversion to services (outcome 22) - and excludes cases where no further action is taken, for example because of lack of evidence or because further action is not in the public interest. The data on adults and children was obtained by Freedom of Information requests sent to all forces and is for 2023 only.
Children convicted of Joint Enterprise | The Alliance for Youth Justice have published a guest blog from their member Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), a grassroots campaign primarily led by mothers whose children have received custodial sentences through convictions using the doctrine of joint enterprise. The blog argues that children are being convicted of murders they did not commit, and it highlights the racial disproportionality in joint enterprise convictions.
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This month's edition was written by...
Clinks Policy and Communications Officer, Bronte Jack
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