Mapping Innovation

We work to promote the best of Britain’s innovative justice practice.
The Glasgow Youth Court is a judicially led problem solving court for 16–24-year-olds, functioning within the Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Youth Court Solutions (YCS) is an independent advice and support service based in Wellingborough Magistrates Court, delivering to the whole county youth cohort once every fortnight.
Established in 1996, Everyman Project was a counselling service for men who wanted help to cease their violent and/or abusive behaviours.
Safe Video Link Evidence Facilities are remote sites in Wales where survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence can deliver their evidence in a safe and secure environment.
This specialist court model employs a multi-agency approach to provide a more effective response to processing domestic abuse cases within the criminal justice system.
Stockport’s Supporting Families Employment Advisers, provide support with training, education and employment. They also accept referrals from the local Family Drug and Alcohol Court, providing holistic multi-agency support via the wider Supporting Families framework.
The Child Impact Assessment is a framework for understanding more about the impact on a child of having their primary carer in the criminal justice system, and ensuring they are listened to and supported at each stage of the process.
Glasgow Alcohol Court was established in 2018 and seeks to reduce the rates of reoffending by supporting individuals who offend with their underlying alcohol issues.
CASSPLUS is a community advice service in Devon and Cornwall which offers practical advice, personal support and help to access services to court users with the aim of reducing reoffending.
C3 targets individuals who are engaged in prolific, non-violent adult residential burglary offending. Participants are given a deferred sentence and an intensive community sentence plan tailored to their individual needs.
The Glasgow Drug Court aims to reduce drug misuse and related offending. If accepted on the programme, participants must engage in drug treatment, regular drug testing, and court reviews to monitor progress.
The Edinburgh APSC is aimed at adult men with a pattern of low-level alcohol-related offending. They receive a community order incorporating addiction treatment, regular judicial reviews and support with additional needs.
The Community Advice service is a free and confidential support service at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court. It offers practical and emotional support for individuals appearing in court and their family members.
FDAC is a therapeutic, problem-solving court model which aims to provide parents with intensive support to help them to address their drug and alcohol issues, and reduce the numbers of children in care.
The EAT programme is a police-led initiative in Wales that seeks to establish a multi-agency approach to tackling offending behaviour by identifying and supporting people who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences.
The Promoting Positive Relationships Programme is a non-adjudicated preventative group programme that was developed for men at risk of being abusive in intimate relationships.
Aberdeen Problem-Solving Approach (PSA) seeks to reduce the use of short custodial sentences by providing disposals to women and young men with complex needs and multiple previous convictions.
A Structured Deferred Sentence (SDS) is an interim disposal option established at the Hamilton and Lanark Sheriff Courts for 16-21 year olds who are not suitable for remittance back to the Children’s Hearings System.
The ECO is a community-based alternative to short sentences. With a focus on rehabilitation and desistence, the ECO involves interventions that address criminogenic needs.
Belfast SMC takes a problem-solving approach to help offenders with underlying substance misuse issues. Eligible offenders have their sentences deferred while they engage in an intensive treatment programme.
The CSTR scheme aims to reduce reoffending by improving access to mental health and substance misuse treatment in the community through greater use of treatment requirements in community or suspended sentence orders.
The ICO is aimed at men aged 18-25 and offers an intensive community sentence to those who are at risk of a 12-month or less prison sentence and includes support for the individual's families.
These projects in Northamptonshire focus on providing mental health support to eligible women who would otherwise be facing a custodial sentence, and support to people who frequently call the police during crisis moments.
Compulsory sobriety tags were piloted in London, North Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire to try to tackle a variety of alcohol-related night crimes such as alcohol-fuelled assault. The tags have now been fully rolled out across the whole of England and Wales.
The Drug Education Programme (DEP) is a programme that offers individuals caught in possession of drugs a one-time opportunity to attend a course on the topic of addiction within Avon and Somerset.
Project SHE is a point-of-arrest diversion scheme for women who offend within Avon and Somerset. It aims to provide tailored support for women across multiple areas so that they can avoid returning to the criminal justice system.

This map charts innovative projects happening across the UK’s justice systems. You can search and filter the projects to find things that are most interesting to you.

The Centre for Justice Innovation regularly engages with practitioners to find out what’s exciting them in the world of justice. We want to know what projects practitioners are running that they are most proud of and, just as importantly, the ones a few counties away that are inspiring them.

We are expanding the map so that it not only includes innovations in criminal justice, but also in public family law and the child welfare system. We are keen to hear from practitioners from across the UK about new and exciting initiatives that we can add in all areas. If you would like your work to be included, please get in touch

Before you get in touch, please be aware that in order to be included on our map we require that your project:

  • is led by, delivered in partnership or commissioned by a statutory agency;
  • can demonstrate improved outcomes. In criminal justice, this might be for victims or service-users, or in family justice, for parents and children.
  • is innovative! By that we mean, it is trying something new in your locality or for that particular target group.