Our court system has its own sense of style, dark wood panelling, a golden crest, and the dock, its own set of rules, to bow or not bow, and even its own language, mitigation, adjournment and remand. For those who appear in court, the whole experience can feel not only intimidating but alien.

Dan Hayes, a serving police officer with West Yorkshire Police, discusses neighbourhood and evidence-based policing

Manchester has led the way on problem solving courts in the UK for more than a decade. Projects like Stockport Problem-Solving Court and Manchester Women’s Court have been important examples of what can be achieved when court work in partnership with other agencies to find long-term solutions to offending. 

The research round-up reviews the newest research around court and criminal innovation to help practitioners stay up to date with the latest evidence about what works and why. Our second edition explores two new pieces of research: a study of how gender and mental health influences people’s perceptions of procedural fairness.

Rebecca Marshall discusses diversion for women.

Aaron Brown speaking about youth diversion in Wales.

Anthony Gunter discussing his experience and thoughts on youth violence and youth work.

Earlier this year, the Centre for Justice Innovation and the Scottish Government brought together a group of practitioners from Scotland and Northern Ireland, to share their experiences of implementing problem-solving.

The research round-up collects the most interesting and useful insights on problem-solving courts to help practitioners and leaders keep up to date with the emerging evidence base. This first issue showcases two items: an analysis of all the evidence to date on how domestic violence courts impact re-offending.

To mark the launch of the book, Life Beyond Crime we spoke with Paul Brown of Chief Executive of The Y (Leicester YMCA).