Out of Court Resolutions: How to Combine Proportionality with Public Confidence

When used well, they support rehabilitation, reduce reoffending, and strengthen confidence in local justice. When used poorly, however, they risk being perceived as inconsistent, ineffective, or soft on crime. In recent years, scrutiny from inspectors, commissioners, and the public has intensified. Questions are regularly raised about whether OOCRs deliver meaningful… Out of Court Resolutions (OOCRs) play an increasingly important role in modern policing. Conditional cautions and community resolutions offer a proportionate response to lower-level offending, reduce unnecessary court backlogs, and enable victims to receive timely outcomes. ...

Advertorial: Hate crime, evidence, and the need for effective intervention

These offences are driven by prejudice against someone’s identity, whether related to race, religion, sexuality, disability, or other protected characteristics. The harm extends well beyond the immediate victim. Hate crime creates fear, weakens trust in public institutions, and damages social cohesion. When communities feel unsafe or targeted, confidence in justice… Hate crime poses a profound challenge, not only to individuals but to entire communities. ...

Courts in Crisis - The Government’s new strategy explained

The UK’s court system is in crisis. Crown courts have a backlog of nearly 80,0000 cases- the caseload has doubled since 2020 and it could hit 100,000 cases by 2028. Victims are waiting an average of 271 days for their cases to be resolved; 70% longer than before the COVID-19… By Ciara Placentino...

New Sentencing Bill Amendments Strengthen Protections for Pregnant Women

As of January 2026, significant amendments to the UK’s Sentencing Act have introduced stronger legal protections for pregnant women and primary carers within the criminal justice system. Central to these reforms is an amendment to the Bail Act 1976, which now places a clear legal duty on courts to consider… ...

Why reflective, evidence-informed practice matters in Safeguarding

Working in probation, offender management, and safeguarding is complex, high-stakes work. Every decision—from assessing risk, planning interventions, or managing cases in the community—can have a profound impact on people’s lives. Recent reviews, including the Sara Sharif case and national Domestic Homicide Review analyses, show that missed risks, limited professional curiosity,… Red Snapper Learning's Evidence-Informed Practice & Reflective Learning in Safeguarding course is designed to help practitioners ensure that difficult decisions are informed, thoughtful, and defensible....

A whole systems approach for women in the CJS

Clinks (the national infrastructure charity for the voluntary sectors working in the CJS) yesterday published a report on a ‘Whole Systems Approach’ for women in contact with the criminal justice system. Clinks convenes Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to advise on specific areas of policy and practice as the need arises.… Russell Webster reviews the findings of a new report from Clinks. ...

Why Men Find It Difficult to Leave a Domestic Abuse Relationship

Often when people hear domestic abuse, they think about a woman being abused by a male partner. While this is a serious and widespread issue, it’s not always the case. It is important for us to understand and acknowledge that men can also be subjected to physical, psychological, emotional or… By Hardeep Roud...

Interrogation Techniques Leading to False Confessions

The Reid technique is pioneered by Inabu, Reid and Buckley (1986) in their police training manual, detailing how deception and guilt can be detected using a variety of positive and negative reinforcing techniques, such as minimisation, leading questions, analysing body language, and false promises, whilst isolating the suspect for great… By Ciara Placentino...

Major recruitment drive launched to sign up new magistrates amid court reforms

The Government has launched a recruitment drive in the new year after setting out reforms to the courts system last month to tackle the crown court backlog. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said more than 2,000 more magistrates have been trained since 2022 and the latest call seeks to increase… Thousands of new magistrates are being sought to volunteer in England and Wales as part of efforts to speed up justice for victims....

The 'right to be forgotten'

Rehabilitation in the Digital Age A new briefing from Unlock, the charity which supports and advocates for people with criminal records to be able to move on positively in their lives, examines how the digital age has undermined the promise of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) and sets… Russell Webster reviews new research which looks at the challenges of rehabilitating offenders in the digital age. ...