Cassia Rowland
Senior Researcher
All work
Overflowing prisons are just one aspect of deep dysfunction across our failing criminal justice system
Multiple vicious circles are causing spiralling performance declines in criminal justice.
The UK’s criminal justice system is ill-equipped to deal with riots
The hangover of austerity and court backlogs are hindering the government’s response to this summer’s violence.
Managing violent unrest poses challenges at every turn for policing – and for the new government
People expect the government to respond to the awful Southport attacks.
Fixing public services: Recommendations
How the new government can spend money more effectively.
Fixing public services: Sticking with the status quo – implications of current spending plans
Labour’s implied spending plans won’t deliver the improved performance demanded by the public.
Fixing public services: Cross-cutting problems
In recent years, governments have repeatedly found it necessary to top up single-year budgets in response to poor performance.
Fixing public services: The criminal justice system
Police, criminal courts, prisons and probation are all struggling to cope, with major performance problems and demand set to keep growing.
Fixing public services: Summary
Sticking to the status quo means most services are likely to be performing worse at the next election in 2028/29 than at the last election in 2019.
Fixing public services
The government's public services inheritance make its spending plans untenable.
The failures of the last government mean Labour had no good prisons options
Profound political failure of past governments has created the crisis in prisons.