Held to Account

The Common Ground Justice Project is an independent non-profit initiative, hosted by the Centre for Justice Innovation, listening to the public across divides, finding common ground for a new way forward on criminal justice in the UK.

Following their initial report in 2025 "this report begins by digging deeper into the loss of trust in the system: Chapter 1 reveals a disturbingly widespread feeling that crime has become consequence-free, a rising fear of victimhood, and the damage this is doing to the social contract and to faith in politics. Chapter 2 then asks what the public mean when they demand accountability – testing five possible forms of it and finding where the common ground truly lies. Chapter 3 moves from principle to practice, stress-testing those principles against one of the system’s hardest and most visible challenges – prolific, repeat, mostly low-level offending – to see how they hold up against real policy choices. Chapter 4 draws the conclusions and sets out recommendations for policymaking and campaigning in criminal justice."

The recommendations are positive and are primarily about resources, justice and safety. We have invited Common Ground to talk to our members' Professional Discussion Group.

Read the report here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/673f4c29b1c9857e5c9c1e18/t/6aa977db35ee83229269d327/1789491166500/Held-to-Account_CGJP_Sept-2026.pdf

Photo from report front cover