Courts to get ‘AI legal assistants’ to tackle rising case backlog

Ministers say the technology will help legal professionals get cases moving faster. The AI assistants will be trialled in controlled environments before being used by judges and lawyers, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said. Judges will also have access to an AI tool for finding trial-ready cases and group similar… Virtual legal assistants powered by artificial intelligence will be rolled out to Crown Courts across the country in an effort to tackle the rising backlog of cases, the Government has announced....

Prisoner supervision improvements 'not achieved' three years after recommendations made

Approved premises or hostels and their staff provide vital services for the criminal justice system and support people released from prison who require enhanced supervision and monitoring when they return to the community. The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) currently has access to 91 places for service users who… A Follow-Up Review by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland has found that none of the four recommendations made and accepted to improve approved premises services had been fully achieved three years after they were made....

COMMENT: You do not need an accreditation stamp to change behaviour

I want to make the case that this work is not a second-best solution. In many contexts it is operationally scalable, evidence-aligned, and meeting needs the accredited offer was never designed to reach. The real divide is not accredited versus non-accredited. It is high-quality versus low-quality delivery. What the evidence… The HMPPS accredited offending behaviour programmes list is short. Fully accredited, currently commissioned interventions represent a relatively small proportion of the total intervention landscape, and the gap is being filled, quietly and at volume, by organisations operating outside that list....

Rise in number of serious cases in courts backlog as overall figure falls

A report by Audit Scotland found there were 13,268 outstanding trials at the end of the 2025/26 year. This was around a third of the peak backlog in 2022. However, outstanding scheduled High Court trials rose to 1,002 at the end of 2025/26, almost three times pre-pandemic levels. Scotland’s High… There has been a rise in the number of serious, complex cases in the Scottish court system’s backlog, while the overall number of outstanding trials has fallen....

Finding Purpose Through Reparative Work: A Reflection on Youth Engagement

Immediate Justice and Placement Impact Working with young people on Red Snapper Managed Service’s Immediate Justice programme in Nottingham has reminded me that behaviour rarely exists in isolation. Behind anti-social behaviour, risk-taking, or disengagement, there is usually a need for belonging, recognition, or purpose. One recent placement reinforced for me… By Annmarie Gardner...

Viewpoint: the court isn’t always the better option

The Magistrates’ Association’s new position statement on Out-of-Court Resolutions lands with a now-familiar framing: a “shadow justice system” operating without oversight, eroding open justice, expanding into territory where the bench should sit. It’s a powerful phrase. It’s also the wrong starting point. If we’re serious about reducing reoffending, supporting victims,… Jonathan Hussey, managing director of Red Snapper Managed Services, responds to recent criticism of Out of Court Resolutions operated by police forces....

Warning of 'shadow justice system' as Out of Court Resolutions expand 'without oversight'  

OOCRs – used by police forces and intended for low-level, first-time offending – were highlighted by Sir Brian Leveson in his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts as a valuable tool for reducing the courts’ backlog, removing the need for many less serious cases to go to court. Crime statistics… The Magistrates’ Association is calling for urgent national reform of Out of Court Resolutions (OOCRs), warning that their inconsistent administration, and use in cases such as assault of an emergency worker, domestic abuse and even knife crime, is creating a “parallel justice system” that risks undermining transparency, judicial independence and public confidence. ...

A national approach to OoCRs: The quiet reform that could save the justice system

It is not the glamorous end of policing, not the investigations that dominate headlines or define careers. Yet the absence of a coordinated national approach to low-level offending is placing enormous strain on the criminal justice system. Out of Court Resolutions (OoCRs) are intended to allow police to deal with… Jonathan Ley from Make Time Count argues for a more co-ordinated and effective use of Out of Court Resolutions among police forces....

'There's an appetite for self-employment education - but fear from prison staff to promote it'

“I think there are so many different barriers,” Mr Gullick shares as he considers the challenges facing people who want to find work as they move back into civilian life after a spell behind bars. But one route that is not always championed is self-employment. It’s what Mr Gullick and… Here, Andy Gullick, the CEO and founder of RIFT Social Enterprise and former Prison Governor, tells Reflective Practice about how self-employment should be a route out of disadvantage throughout the UK, including for people with convictions leaving prison....

Reflections and Interventions: A Practitioner’s Perspective on the Manosphere.

The Manosphere documentary by Louis Theroux is both shocking and enlightening, exposing the scale of misogyny and online influence that I had not fully appreciated before. Louis introduces us to men, all influencers, who make money exploiting and humiliating women. They also spread hatred, misogyny, and conspiracy theories. All of… By Aimee Howard...