💡New Insight 💡 Dr Jill Harbord of University of Sussex explores the marginalisation of people facing homelessness in our magistrates' courts. Read it now ⬇️ @sheltercharity.bsky.social | @crisis-uk.bsky.social | @stmungos.bsky.social www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight...

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Start the year strong with a big-picture view of criminal justice policy. @penelopegibbs.bsky.social & @robroballen.bsky.social reflect on the reforms and debates that shaped 2025 & look ahead to 2026. 🎧Listen now for the latest developments in prisons, courts & more: pod.fo/e/374dde

⚠️Can rehabilitation be delivered in prisons - and where are we going wrong? Andi Brierley joins us to discuss how we can ensure people leaving prison have the opportunity to move away from offending. 🎧Catch up on the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast now! pod.fo/e/3648a8

Thank you to the Transform Justice podcast for inviting our Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), to discuss what prison life looks like today, whether prisons do more harm than good, and what people truly need to move away from offending.

How can we reduce reoffending and ensure people feel equipped and inspired to rebuild their lives after being released from prison? Andrea Coomber of @thehowardleague.bsky.social explores in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast. 🎧 Catch up on the full episode here: pod.fo/e/3648a8

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Sharing a cell built for one. Freezing through winter. Locked in 22 hours a day. Is this “rehabilitation”? We're joined by Andrea Coomber @thehowardleague.bsky.social & Andi Brierley @leedstrinity.bsky.social to ask whether prisons can rehabilitate. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/3648a8

⚠️Arrested for terrorism for… holding a sign? On our latest podcast episode, Sarah Lunnon discusses being arrested under the Terrorism Act during recent @defendourjuries.bsky.social protests. 🎧Catch up on the full episode here: pod.fo/e/35277d

Several Just Stop Oil protesters have been imprisoned for contempt of court after trying to explain their motivations. If a judge rules that the right to protest isn’t a valid defence, even mentioning why you acted can be a whole new offence. Listen to the full episode now: pod.fo/e/35277d

For more on the proposal to restrict jury trials and implement an intermediate court, listen to our March podcast episode. Alex Chalk KC & Dominic Thomas join us to debate this controversial idea - listen now: 🎧 pod.fo/e/2b5a06

David Lammy wants to end the court backlog by restricting the usage of jury trials. Listen to our podcast episode from March where Alex Chalk KC and Dominic Thomas debate this issue, discussing the introduction of intermediate courts and other solutions to reduce the backlog. 🎧➡️ pod.fo/e/2b5a06

In March barrister Dominic Thomas passionately put the argument against restricting jury trials in our podcast.

Dame Rachel de Souza, children's commissioner, speaks on custodial remand of children at @longfordtrust.bsky.social Lecture 2025. ⚠️Last chance to fill in our short survey! ⚠️ Do you work with children at risk of remand? We want to hear your views: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... (Closes Monday)

⚠️Have you listened to the newest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast yet? To discuss how the police and courts deal with protest, @penelopegibbs.bsky.social is joined by criminal barrister Audrey Mogan & Sarah Lunnon of Just Stop Oil. Listen now! ➡️https://pod.fo/e/35277d

🚨 Calling all youth justice lawyers!🚨 Survey extended: we want to hear from more practitioners working with children at risk of custodial remand. If this is you (or someone you know) please take a few minutes to complete or share the survey. 📝➡️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Is the criminal justice system curbing the right to protest?

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 pod.fo/e/35277d What happens when government turns protest into a crime? With thousands waiting to hear if they’ll be charged, the message seems clear: dissent now comes at a cost. Sarah Lunnon & Audrey Mogan unpack the impact of new protest laws. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/35277d

When the law changes, what happens to those left behind? In the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast, Matthew Parris explores the political and moral dilemmas surrounding the release (or not) of IPP prisoners. 🎧Catch up on the full episode now: pod.fo/e/33eb2a

Courtwatchers have been questioning whether some cases belong in court at all. At @transformjustice.bsky.social, we’ve long argued that many offences could be resolved better outside of court. See what some courtwatchers had to say below ⬇️ 🧵[1/8]

What is it like to be imprisoned indefinitely? Andrew Morris discusses his experience of an IPP sentence, and the devastating toll it took on his mental health, in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast. 🎧Listen to the full episode here: pod.fo/e/33eb2a #IPP #TransformJusticePodcast

💡Why are we still remanding so many children? Read our latest Insight below ⬇️ And if you work with children at risk of custodial remand, we want to hear from you! Please fill out our survey by 17 Nov so your experiences can inform our policy advocacy. ➡️🔗 Survey here: forms.gle/d9pSVbhhMVQM...

Problems with the Single Justice Procedure continue...we need gov to bring forward reform proposals soon www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

💡Why are we still remanding so many children? Read our latest Insight below ⬇️ And if you work with children at risk of custodial remand, we want to hear from you! Please fill out our survey by 17 Nov so your experiences can inform our policy advocacy. ➡️🔗 Survey here: forms.gle/d9pSVbhhMVQM...

After hundreds of FairChecks supporters wrote to Lord Chancellor David Lammy calling for fairer criminal records checks, we received a response from Lord Timpson. 🔗Read the full letter here - and join the movement, if you haven't already! fairchecks.org.uk/lord-timpson...

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 IPP ended in 2012, but 1,000+ people are still serving indefinite sentences in prison. Andrew Morris & Matthew Parris discuss why people are still held under IPP & how we can rid ourselves of its legacy once and for all. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/33eb2a

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 IPP ended in 2012, but 1,000+ people are still serving indefinite sentences in prison. Andrew Morris & Matthew Parris discuss why people are still held under IPP & how we can rid ourselves of its legacy once and for all. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/33eb2a

📢 New episode of the Transform Justice Podcast out tomorrow! This week we were joined by Matthew Parris and Andrew Morris to discuss the injustice and long-term consequences of IPP sentences. Follow the podcast and tune in from tomorrow morning: ➡️https://podfollow.com/the-transform-justice-podcast

How should the criminal justice system respond to women who commit crime? Are women's centres - multi-agency hubs with specialist support services - the way forward? Lucy Campbell and Dr Sarah Waite explore in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast ⬇️ 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/32d390

⚠️ Is the term 'vulnerable' helpful when used to describe women in the criminal justice system? Dr Sarah Waite and Lucy Campbell explore in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast. 🎧 Listen to the full discussion - pod.fo/e/32d390 #TransformJusticePodcast #WomenInPrison

⚠️ Is the term 'vulnerable' helpful when used to describe women in the criminal justice system? Dr Sarah Waite and Lucy Campbell explore in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast. 🎧 Listen to the full discussion - pod.fo/e/32d390 #TransformJusticePodcast #WomenInPrison

📢 Out-of-court resolutions save time and money, reduce reoffending, and are often preferred by victims. Yet some forces use them far more than others. How does your local police force compare? 🔗 Start exploring here: www.transformjustice.org.uk/crime-resolu...

💡The slow road to the bench: reforming magistrate recruitment What is going on with the magistrate recruitment system? Why does it take years to begin sitting? And is the process biased? 📖 @penelopegibbs.bsky.social explores in our latest Insight: www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight...

On the day gov stats show delays increasing in the mags' courts our team are going through findings of our volunteers who observed mags' courts in London this year. Their reflections show why justice is slow & why the process is often not very just.

Out of court resolutions are effective, efficient & often preferred by victims. But how much are police forces using them? 🔗📊 Check our newly updated 2025 crime resolution tracker: www.transformjustice.org.uk/crime-resolu...

The illegal prosecution of c 59,000 people for not having the right ticket/fare evasion is the biggest (in terms of numbers) British miscarriage of justice ever. All those illegally convicted - railway companies wrongly used single justice procedure court process www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...

As ever, I learned a lot during this podcast - not only about the serious failings in our current approach to women in conflict with the law but how to go about creating a more just and effective system. Do have a listen to two very well informed contributors sharing their thoughts and experience.

Well worth a listen. Women’s prisons are genuinely appalling and getting worse. They receive very little press coverage despite being more violent than men’s prisons and having a self-harm rate equivalent to around 6 incidents per prisoner per year

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Should stealing baby milk to feed your child lead to prison? Dr Sarah Waite & Lucy Campbell discuss how the prison system is failing women & what could be done to improve society’s response to women in crisis. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/32d390

Excellent (as ever) sleuthing by Penelope on one of the massive holes in available data in the criminal justice system — in this case yet another on the ‘single justice procedure’, the process for prosecuting low-level offences based on paper submissions, with no court hearing.

A fantastic article by @penelopegibbs.bsky.social, building on the work of @kirkkorner.bsky.social Highlights additional problems with the Single Justice Procedure (#SJP), this time related to the #HMCTS Libra case management system And the system failing #openjustice principles. #UKlegal

💡Transform Justice Director @penelopegibbs.bsky.social went on a mission to uncover the mysterious single justice procedure case files hidden from public view. Read more in our latest Insight ⬇️ www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight...

How do we navigate questions of mental illness, ‘insanity’ and culpability in our justice system? Bradley Hillier and Rhona Friedman discuss on the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/319ef0 #CriminalJustice #MentalHealth #TransformJusticePodcast

⚠️Faulty court technology is preventing the public from seeing crucial evidence. Across dozens of hearings, courtwatchers saw faulty video screen links to be a source of delays and found they were unable to see the evidence originally intended to be viewed by the entire courtroom. 🧵[1/6]

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 Should someone with schizophrenia stand trial? In our 50th episode (🤯) Dr Bradley Hillier and Rhona Friedman of Commons Law discuss how defendants with serious mental health conditions are treated in the justice system. 🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/319ef0

The single justice procedure has been used extensively to prosecute Covid rulebreakers - but was this really a fair way of dealing with the issue? @kirstybrimelow.bsky.social discusses in the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast ⬇️ 🔗🎧Catch up on the full episode now: pod.fo/e/30221c

The latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast explores the ins and outs and failings of the controversial single justice procedure. Here @penelopegibbs.bsky.social discusses one particularly shocking case ⬇️ 🎧🔗Catch up on the full episode now: pod.fo/e/30221c

Under the single justice procedure, parents can be prosecuted for the non-attendance of their children at school. In fact, in 2024, there were over 20,000 parents convicted for this offence - which is a strict liability offence, meaning there are very few valid excuses to avoid prosecution.

Speed has replaced just decision making with the convey belt Single Justice Procedure (SJP) - reform is needed now. On this Transform Justice podcast, our Vice Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC discusses how the SJP works and what it means for people facing charges. Listen now ⬇️ lnkd.in/e4N4ADKm

If you regularly travel in London, you probably see signs like these all the time. TFL proudly displays huge numbers representing people given penalty fares and prosecuted, to dissuade members of the public from evading travel fares and protect their revenue. 🧵[1/4]

The teenager was convicted in a fast-track Single Justice Procedure hearing conducted in private

Currently, 38% of defendants in open magistrates’ court hearings don’t plead, compared to 73% of single justice procedure defendants… 🔗Our new report explores the ins and outs, the issues and the human impact of the single justice procedure: www.transformjustice.org.uk/publication/...