Approximately 44% of women reoffend within a year of leaving prison. For those serving sentences of less than 12 months, that figure rises to around 72%. These statistics alone make for sobering reading, but the macabre deepens when we consider what these numbers represent in human terms. A short custodial… by Gemma Waller...
Brooke Fenwick qualified as a social worker in 2013 and has extensive experience supporting families across a range of children’s services. Her career has included work in safeguarding, supporting children in care, and managing edge-of-care intensive support and family group conference services. Brooke has also worked directly with young people… by Brooke Fenwick...
Mr Lammy was speaking after announcing that virtual legal assistants powered by AI will be rolled out to crown courts across the country in an effort to tackle the rising backlog of cases. The assistants will be trialled in controlled environments before being used by judges and lawyers, the Ministry… That's the view of Justice Secretary David Lammy, who said there are teams within Government working to make sure the effects of so-called AI hallucinations “are not overly significant”....
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....
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....
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....
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....
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...
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....
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. ...