'Learn from Google' on criminal justice

Published on Sunday 8 August 2010 14:41

THE government needs to model itself on the likes of Google and Apple as it overhauls the criminal justice system, campaigners said yesterday.

Innovation must be at the heart of the reform of a system which has been dominated by short-term thinking and the fear of adverse public reaction to new ideas, a report by the Young Foundation think-tank said.

It called for the introduction of a centre for piloting new initiatives, a scheme to fund local-authority investment in alternatives to custody and a bid to enhance the employment prospects of prisoners on their release.

Anton Shelupanov, of the Young Foundation, said: "With prison numbers and costs soaring, there's a real danger that the criminal justice system won't be able to perform its core function of keeping crime low and the public safe.

"Justice policy has been stuck on a treadmill for years - with rising prison numbers and consistently appalling levels of reoffending. In the best public services, and in well-known successful companies, innovation is a major part of what keeps them ahead. We now need more than ever to develop the alternatives that can help people jump off that treadmill."

The report, Turning the Corner, said the government must create the same conditions for innovation as firms like Google and Apple which devote staff time and resources to experimentation.

A YouGov poll for the report found 60 per cent thought it was a good idea to reward communities which succeeded in tackling crime through community-led interventions, compared with 31 per cent who felt it would be a bad idea. Such rewards could include lower council tax bills, the report suggested.

Asked to select from a list which groups had great or some responsibility for tackling crime locally, 96 per cent of those surveyed said the police, 95 per cent said parents,, 76 per cent citizens working together, 71 per cent teachers and 58 per cent said religious leaders.