Working to make government more effective

Working to make government more effective

Police officers standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice

Criminal justice

Our research assesses the performance of criminal justice services and how to improve them.

Criminal justice is a key priority for any government. Our research, events and commentary analyse changes to funding and demand for criminal justice, and the impact of government policies on its performance and on the workforce that delivers it.

We assess how performance has changed over time, model the future demand facing the criminal justice sector and explain how the system operates.

Our recent comments

Performance Tracker 2025: Criminal justice system

The government must act to avoid the justice system returning to the crisis point seen when Labour entered office, or worse.

Read our report
An aerial view of HMP Manchester, Strangeways Prison, Manchester

Public Services Performance Tracker

Beyond reasonable doubt?: Reviewing proposed reforms to jury trials

There is a lot of uncertainty attached to the potential benefits of the government’s proposed reforms.

Read the report
David Lammy

Our analysis