This briefing sets out eight pragmatic and incremental ways the government could begin to reduce the prison population without impacting public safety. We estimate that these measures could reduce the population by 12,000 places over the lifetime of this parliament, reducing the pressure on the system, making it safer and freeing up over £900 million.

Our consultation response to the Sentencing Council’s draft guidelines on early guilty pleas highlights our concerns that the proposed changes will not benefit enough victims and witnesses and it could unnecessarily increase the prison population.

This report considers where desistance stands at present, the barriers that may limit its further progress and the opportunities and risks afforded by current developments.

This report highlights the key elements of personalisation and examines how an agenda focused on it could be achieved within a justice reinvestment model.

This submission argues that there is the need for a distinct approach to young adults within custody and that this must be an approach that is proportionate to their maturity and responsive to their specific needs. :

This short paper outlines ten widely held beliefs about the criminal justice system that the CJA believes need further thought and discussion

This report analyses how several European countries, especially the Netherlands and Germany have seen a sharp decline in their prison populations over the last five years. It highlights several features in continental justice systems that are associated with a more moderate use of prison.

This collection of essays on the role of the public, private and voluntary sectors within the criminal justice system, attempts to achieve a balance between those in favour of and those opposed to the current trend of marketisation of services. Contributors include Professor Alison Liebling, Dr. Ben Crewe; Helen Edwards, Director General of the MoJ’s Justice Policy Group and Heather Munro, Chief Executive of London Probation Trust.

This report considers how and why the female prison population has increased and what the consequences have been. This is followed by a review of past and current government attempts to reduce the number of women going to prison and what changes might be needed if the number of women entering prison is really to fall.

This report provides evidence of the corrosive impact of prison overcrowding on the work of charities and organisations in prisons who provide rehabilitation in custody and through the gate services on release.

The CJA welcomes the emphasis on rehabilitation, wider availability of restorative justice, increased diversion for offenders with mental health problems, and the need for a joined-up approach to tackle these problems. However a sustained effort will be needed to successfully address prison overcrowding, the most significant, current problem for prisons.

This briefing recognises a fresh approach to criminal justice policy is long overdue and suggests twelve problem areas within the adult criminal justice system that need urgent attention in the new parliament.

This collection of essays brings together experts on penal policy, including academics, campaigners and politicians, who put forward a selection of proposals that would radically change the criminal justice system.