A year in Justice: Reflections from Modernising Justice 2025

As I sat and listened to Lord Timpson outline his plans for reforming the prison and probation system in England and Wales at the Modernising Justice Conference on 12 June, I was reminded of the current pressures which the system faces, struck by how much has changed in the last year, and pleased to see technology being considered as a core part of future reforms.

Current pressures

In the past year the prison and probation system has been under significant pressure:

• Adult prison population in England and Wales has exceeded the capacity it was designed to accommodate necessitating the introduction of early release programmes
• Shortages of probation officers, high caseloads, high rates of attrition, and increasing numbers of people on probation has meant a change in offender supervision.

Developments in the last 12 months

As a result of these pressures the following changes have been introduced:

• June 24: End of Custody Supervised License (ECSL) scheme expanded to permit early release of up to 70 days before the scheduled date
• September 24: Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40) scheme enacted allowing eligible prisoners to be released after serving 40% of their sentence (down from 50%)
• October 24: Independent Sentencing Review chaired by David Gauke announced with the final report issued in May 25 making 48 detailed recommendations
• December 24: Lord Leveson Review of the Criminal Courts set up to look at addressing the backlog of cases at the Crown Courts with report due to be issued in 2025
• January 25: Inaugural meeting of the Women’s Justice Board to reduce number of women in prison, cut re-offending rates, and recognise the unique challenges faced by women
• March 25: Increased funding for the probation service of up to £700M and recruitment of at least 1,300 additional trainee probation officers by March 2026 announced
• May 25: Addition of 2,400 new prison places to increase prison capacity and £4.7Bn investment announced to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031.

Future reforms

At the Modernising Justice Conference 2025, Lord Timpson outlined his vision of a “justice system which is tough when needed but always smart at cutting crime and supporting victims” and recognising that “Justice is not about punishment alone but about changing lives and making communities safer”. 

Amongst the future reforms announced were:

• Reduction in the use of short custodial sentences with more sentences being served in the community making greater use of electronic monitoring
• Providing support in the community to address the factors that have caused individuals to commit crime such as access to addiction services and counselling 
• Greater use of unpaid community work where the salaries earned go back to the local communities affected by crime
• Improvement in the probation service by investing £700M, part of which will be spent on implementing new technology to free up probation staff.

Central role of technology

Central to the reforms which Lord Timpson announced was the enabling role which technology will play in helping to deliver them. This included making greater use of electronic monitoring to enable more offenders to serve their sentences in the community, productivity tools for probation staff to free up their time, simplifying the systems used in the Probation Service, and designing new prisons like HMP Millsike where technology is integrated into the fabric of the prison.

We know from other Justice systems across the globe that technology can be used to enhance rehabilitation, improve security, and deliver operational efficiencies. However, as other panellists made clear in later sessions delivering these benefits will require all stakeholders including policy makers, operational staff, technologists, and the third sector to work together.

Judging by the quality of discussion across the panels and the technologies on show in the exhibitor hall, it’s clear that the next 12 months will be just as dynamic and fast paced.

If you'd like to discuss the future of the Justice system, and technology's place in it, please feel free to reach out.