Justice Reinvestment report launched

The House of Commons Justice Committee, chaired by the Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP (pictured), today published their report Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment. The report gives detailed consideration to the potential for adopting a 'justice reinvestment' approach in England and Wales.

Justice Reinvestment - an approach that has gained favour in America - involves the redistribution of resources out of the criminal justice system and into mainstream services in targeted communities where levels of offending, victimisation, deprivation and social exclusion are high.

The Justice Committee found that although significant work has taken place within the criminal justice system to address the multiple causes of re-offending, there is “compelling evidence that the Government has missed many opportunities to reduce re-offending by failing to invest in community provision outside of the criminal justice system”. It finds that “there is a very strong financial case for investing substantial resources in more preventative work” with a number of targeted groups such as young people, former offenders and those with substance misuse or mental health problems.

Revolving Doors Agency gave evidence to the Justice Committee for this review and are cited throughout the report. The Justice Committee's conclusions support many aspects of Revolving Doors' work and research findings. One such example is their assertion that "it does not make financial sense to continue to ignore the needs of young adult offenders" - the focus of Revolving Doors' work on Transition to Adulthood.

To read the report in full, please follow the link here.