Policy Hub
On 8 December 2008, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS) at King's College London published a report which explains that the criminal justice system faces major pressures in the coming years, with contradictory government policy placing staff under enormous strain.
The report notes that, since 2001, the police, courts and probation service have benefited from above inflation budget growth. The courts service budget has grown by 6% in real terms. The police budget has grown by 18% and the probation service budget by 21%.
However, the report argues that once increases in staff levels and workloads are taken into account, as well as structural upheaval, this real terms budget growth is far less generous than it appears. In some cases the costs of structural change and expanding workloads have outstripped budget increases.
The report contends that, as the government seeks to cut costs in the coming years, the key criminal justice agencies face a challenging future of staffing cuts, wage freezes and increased work for those who remain.
Criminal justice resources staffing and workloads: an initial assessment (PDF)