Expanding Payment-by-Results argues that plans to privatise the probation service, underpinned by a ‘payment-by-results’ mechanism, will only work if the prisons system is wrapped into the reforms and prison governors are directly incentivised to cooperate with the new private and voluntary providers who are due to take over probation services.

In the Public Interest explores the role and responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service. It says the prosecution service should retain its powers but calls for more transparency and accountability when it comes to measuring the organisation’s successes and failures.

Policing 2020 looks at the landscape of policing over the next ten years, calling for a return to Sir Robert Peel’s core principles of crime prevention by restoring the link between the public and the police. The report recommends replacing neighbourhood police officers with new Crime Prevention Officers and the establishment of Citizen Police Academies.

Future of Corrections shows that the current system of tagging is in desperate need of reform. A more effective use of tagging, where police and probation officers are directly involved in keeping track of offenders and recommending to prison governors and the courts which criminals should be tagged, could save hundreds of millions of pounds and help the Coalition achieve its goal of stabilising the prison population by 2015.

New analysis by Policy Exchange shows that there is widespread and inconsistent use of out-of-court disposals such as cautions and penalty notices. Proceed with Caution also finds that some serious offenders are escaping justice by avoiding prosecution or because many simply do not pay a penalty notice. 

Police Officer Pensions: Affordability of current schemes reveals that the cost of police officer pensions has increased markedly over the past 15 years from under £1 billion in 1995/6 to £2.5 billion in 2009/10 and recommends the development of a New Model Police Pension scheme that is more affordable for officers and taxpayers alike.

This publication is a transcript of Lord Howard's speech at the Christopher Kingsland Memorial Lecture. Lord Howard argued in favour of reform of human rights legislation and bringing rights back from Strasbourg.

From the Ground Up: Promising criminal justice projects in the US and the UK examines successful demonstration projects in the UK and the US that are attempting to reduce crime, drug use and incarceration, among other challenging goals.

This collaborative think-piece was inspired by a series of interviews with experts from inside and outside the police service, and an online survey of prospective policing leaders of tomorrow. The observations we set out reflect upon these discussions and give rise to a number of key questions that warrant future debate.