Mapping Innovation

We work to promote the best of Britain’s innovative justice practice.
Kairos is a Coventry-based women's charity who have developed a womens justice support service for women who are in contact with the criminal justice system who are also subject to, or at risk of, sexual exploitation.
The Sunflower Women's Centre is the first and only women's centre in Plymouth. They offer a wrap-around service for women with a range of complex needs.
Fresh Start offers support to mothers who have had one or more of their children removed through family court proceedings.
Eve’s Space is a women’s centre in Bolton that supports women who are at risk of offending or who have previously offended. The service aims to address the issues that put women at risk and help them to rebuild their lives.
NEST (Nurture Empower Safe Together) is a service in Rochdale that takes a different approach to working with parents and their partners who have experienced recurrent care proceedings.
Humberside Police have developed a diversion programme for clients of sex workers, which sits alongside their work to safeguard sex workers in the area.
LEPH (Law Enforcement Public Health) Link is a brief intervention and signposting app, inspired by public health principles.
Flourish is a therapeutic outreach service for women in Lambeth who have experience of care proceedings or the removal of a child from their care and are at risk of recurrent care proceedings.
Established in 1996, Everyman Project was a counselling service for men who wanted help to cease their violent and/or abusive behaviours.
My Ally is a service run by Watford Women’s Centre that provides emotional and practical support, via a support line and e-mail, to women who have been subjected to domestic abuse.
Cranstoun’s West Midlands Arrest Referral Service aims to reduce the cycle of crime and substance use by assessing individuals who may be eligible for an alternative to custody.
Future Living is a registered charity in Hertford that supports individuals who have been subject to domestic abuse. The Monica Programme is an ongoing support group therapy offered to women and Wise Guys is a programme specifically for male victims of domestic abuse.
The Out of Court Diversion Suite aims to divert individuals who commit low-level offences out of the court system by referring them to partner agencies that take a trauma-informed approach to address their offending behaviour. Brighter Tomorrows is a pilot programme that aims to tackle the complex needs of female offenders so that they are less likely to re-offend.
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.
The DAISY Programme is an attachment based perinatal programme for parents who have had a previous child removed from their care.
Family Safeguarding is a strengths-based, whole-family approach to child protection. It brings together all professionals working with a family in one multi-disciplinary team with the goal of keeping more children safely at home with their families.
Through the Local Criminal Justice Board, a number of out of court disposal pathways designed to encompass a broad demographic have been established, offering support and diversion away from formal court proceedings.
For Baby’s Sake is an innovative programme which takes a whole family approach to breaking the cycle of domestic abuse and childhood trauma for expectant parents and babies alike.
The unification of these schemes is the result of a commissioning partnership between statutory agencies in Wales, building upon the good practice developed during the schemes’ respective pilots.
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.
New Chance is an adult diversion scheme for women based in the West Midlands. Participants are referred by police and are given access to a programme of tailored support.
The Footprints scheme seeks to divert women away from the criminal justice system through the use of out of court disposals and participants are supported to address a range of needs.
Checkpoint Plus is an adult diversion scheme that diverts women out of the formal criminal justice system into a holistic support package.
The Best Services Trial is an ongoing trial of the New Orleans Intervention Model which aims to improve the long-term mental health and placement stability of infants in foster or kinship care through clinical intervention.
Love Barrow Families helps local families by supporting parents to address their underlying problems with the aim of reducing the numbers of children entering the care system.
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.
NBFCIO is a charity in Stockport that works with parents who are involved with children’s services but have underlying issues. By addressing and building emotional resistance through the Trauma-Informed Programme, parents are able to meet their children’s needs.
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.
The WONDER project aims to divert women from police custody facilities and help them to access tailored support and address their needs through a multi-agency and collaborative approach.
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.
The Whole Systems Approach adopted in Sussex centres on a multi-agency approach to addressing the complex needs of women who are in contact with the justice system by supporting them to access relevant services.
Kent, Surrey & Sussex CRC has implemented a different strategy for supporting women who offend which recognises the complex needs of the women they work with and the need for trauma-informed intervention.
These projects seek to better address the needs of people affected by domestic and/or sexual violence by addressing four strategic pillars concerning VAWG and women in the wider community.
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.