What is the better Justice Coalition?
The Better Justice Coalition aims to increase government support for early intervention and diversion, by building an alliance to advocate for evidence-based policymaking.
We aim to improve public safety by tackling high re-offending rates and the disproportionate criminalisation of people facing multiple disadvantage and racial inequality.
We want to improve responses and support for people before they get caught up in offending and when they first have contact with the justice system. This includes access to youth services, education, health services and housing, so people get the support and treatment they need to turn their lives around.
What is the better Justice Coalition doing?
User Voice is hosting the Better Justice Coalition.
We’re working in partnership to champion evidence-based policymaking to reduce crime and make communities safer.
We are showing how the current system harms public safety and contributes to wider social problems. These include health and mental health problems, racial disparities, homelessness, unemployment, and debt.
We are making the case for evidence-based solutions that tackle the causes of offending and reduce harm to victims and communities.
We have analysed government decision-making and public narratives, including:
- Research that helped us to understand what government decision makers think about criminal justice reform.
- Analysis by Humankind Research that helped us understand media narratives.
- Research by Future Narratives Lab that has provided ways of communicating to increase public understanding of what works to reduce crime.
What is happening in the criminal justice system?
The criminal justice system isn’t working well for communities or victims of crime. People are not getting the support they need. Criminal justice responses often make their problems worse and can lead to a cycle of crisis and crime.
The system is under severe and growing strain. The court system is backed up and the prison population has nearly doubled since the 1990s, making rehabilitation more challenging than ever. England and Wales now have the highest prison rates in Western Europe and the number of people in prison is set to increase further. 60% of people sent to prison have committed a non-violent offence and the use of community sentences has halved.
We need to tackle the causes of crime early, through evidence-based solutions that work better than fines and prison. The Sentencing Act 2026 aims to address prison capacity problems but we want to drive more fundamental reform so that the system addresses the causes of offending and reduces reoffending.
30% of people in prison have a learning disability or difficulty.
63% of people in prison have been suspended or excluded during childhood
24% of people in prison have been in care during their childhood
“Every review has reached nearly the same conclusion…custodial sanctions, including imprisonment, have no appreciable effect on reducing reoffending.”
Crime and Justice Journal (2021)
“Some groups are heavily over-represented in prison – for example Black people make up around 3% of the general population but accounted for 12% of adult people in prison in 2015/16; and more than 20% of children in custody.”
The Lammy Review (2017)
about our coalition members
User Voice has come together with five UK charities – Action for Race Equality, Criminal Justice Alliance, Howard League for Penal Reform, Nacro and Transform Justice – to drive government support for justice system reform. The steering group also includes Centre for Mental Health, Clinks, Prisoners’ Education Trust, and Prison Reform Trust.
Discover more about the Better Justice Coalition by contacting
Vicky Fobel – Programme Director, Better Justice
