With hours to go until council elections, crime is rising up the political agenda

With hours to go until council elections, crime is rising up the political agenda One of the less remarked upon features of contemporary politics over the last decade has been the absence of crime and justice from big national policy debates. Crime barely featured in...

Four things we learnt about crime and justice during party conference season

Aside from coughing fits and attention-seeking comedians, party conferences generally fulfil two purposes: they illustrate which of the parties has undertaken the deepest thinking on policy; and they provide a useful barometer as to the state of our political...

Crest election manifesto round-up

This week the parties’ manifestos came out. What do they tell us about the state of criminal justice policy in Britain today? Let’s start with the areas where there appears to be broad consensus. All the major parties now prioritise doing more to reduce violence...

Crime and justice in the 2017 election – blink and you’ll miss it

Five thoughts on what the 2017 general election campaign might mean for crime and justice So Theresa May has ‘called’ the early election she promised she wouldn’t. The continually improving poll leads, approval ratings and recent pattern of local and parliamentary...

Liz Truss’ speech on prison reform: a mixed bag

The Justice Secretary Liz Truss has just given her first major policy speech on prison reform to launch the Ministry of Justice’s new White Paper. Arguably her first goal was to restore a sense of purpose and direction, following some early mis-steps, including an...

Where’s the beef? Our take on criminal justice policy at Tory conference

Policy-making for party conference season used to be like preparing for feeding time at the zoo – like throwing red meat at particularly voracious carnivores, who finish it quickly and move onto the next meal. Now, post-Brexit, it feels like slim pickings with...