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Crime and Justice Blogs
How drunk tanks – or ‘Sobering Centres’ – could help the police and our NHS
Charlotte McLeod, Crime & Justice Research Fellow at Policy Exchange urges the piloting of ‘drunk tanks’ to tackle problematic drinking culture which costs in excess of £2.7bn every year and to help free up time, money and resources from our already hard-pressed NHS and police forces.
May and Grayling’s record and what it will mean at the general election
Policy Exchange’s Head of Crime & Justice, Max Chambers, analyses the achievements and progress made by the Home Secretary, Theresa May and the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, as well as the challenges ahead and the role that crime and immigration will play in the upcoming 2015 general election.
How should the police best use limited resources?
To make best use of police forces’ limited resources, argues Ruth Davis, Crime & Justice Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, the police should partner with the private sector to make considerable savings, make better use of technology and by partnership schemes with other social agencies.
Give PCCs power to hire and fire prison governors
Max Chambers, Policy Exchange’s Head of Crime & Justice, sets out the recommendations of our recent report Power Down, which advocates giving PCCs further criminal justice and crime prevention responsibilities. The report envisages ten or so existing ‘Super’ PCCs trialling these new powers on an accelerated timescale.
Labour is unlikely to scrap PCCs, so here’s how it can reform them
Policy Exchange’s Head of Crime & Justice Max Chambers examines Labour’s likely forthcoming policy announcements in the area of policing and argues that the party needs to address its position on PCCs. Max argues that the smart money is on PCCs remaining in place – should Labour seek to scrap PCCs, they would need to make it their first priority in office and pass emergency legislation in Parliament.
Should thieves and fraudsters be spared prison terms?
Following the Howard League for Penal Reform’s recommendation that thieves and fraudsters should not serve prison terms, Policy Exchange’s Head of Crime and Justice, Max Chambers, argues that property crimes are already treated very leniently by the criminal justice system. Instead of banning prison sentences to reduce the prison population, the focus should be on preventing crime and reducing reoffending.
Could the riots happen again?
Two years on from the 2011 riots, Max Chambers, Policy Exchange’s Head of Crime & Justice, examines the cognitive dimension of the rioter’s behaviour and how this might link with the proliferation of social media. Max argues that the conditions that sparked the riots are still present and that in the short-term we may unfortunately become more familiar with these types of disturbances.
Re-booting public trust in the police
Ruth Davis, Crime & Justice Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, highlights the new and innovative ways in which police forces are using technology to tackle crime and engage with the public. Ruth argues that such technologies will help the police bridge the distance that has built between them and the public, as well as increasing police accountability.
Paving the way towards broadcasting in courts
Following the broadcast of ‘The Murder Trial’ on Channel 4, Policy Exchange Crime & Justice Research Fellow Charlotte McLeod makes the case for televising court cases. Charlotte highlights the inconsistency of allowing social media into courtrooms, but not TV broadcast, and argues that with stringent safeguards in place broadcasting court proceedings offers an important opportunity to engage the public in understanding how our judicial system works.
Reforming reform with payment by results
Max Chambers, Head of Crime and Justice at Policy Exchange, argues that the UK’s penal system is in danger of failing the hardest-to-help. Payment-by-results, he argues, will provide a potentially revolutionary powerful commercial incentive for providers to innovate and effect some badly needed cultural changes within the probation system.