Innovation in justice report:
New delivery models and
better outcomes

Steria commissioned a major independent study from Cranfield University to investigate the key success factors for effective innovation in criminal justice services. It involved

• Survey of 28 senior leaders in diverse justice organisations in the UK, Netherlands and Czech Republic
• Four case studies of successful justice innovation:
  • Warwickshire Justice Centre
  • Restorative Justice in the Greater Manchester Police
  • Rotterdam Detention Centre
  • Roma Mentoring programme in the Czech Republic.

Continued budgetary pressure and associated austerity measures are forcing a rethink of how justice services are delivered in the UK. Whilst Justice organisations are being required to cut back, the social impact of austerity brings further challenges. New and different forms of criminal activity are emerging, from the riots this summer to developments in cyber-crime. Innovation has now become essential if organisations are to rise to the challenge of doing more for less whist ensuring effective delivery of criminal justice services.

Our report indicates that successful innovation in criminal justice is more about effective leadership and creating the right environment for new ideas to be developed and adopted, and less about the centre dictating ‘best practice’ and demanding adherence to performance metrics. The challenge will be in maintaining the space for ideas to be developed, accepting and learning from failure and encouraging organisations to adopt new approaches. This can be achieved by developing an innovation strategy supported by systematic methods to identify, assess and implement new ideas. 

Do you have questions for the authors?

David Baxter, Magnus Schoeman, Keith Goffin from the School of Management, Cranfield University will be happy to receive comments or queries.