Closer to Home: Principles for a Justice System Shaped by Communities

JUSTICE North's first report, Closer to Home: Principles for a Justice System Shaped by Communities, find that justice devolution in the North of England has stalled, with the region falling behind other parts of the country. It offers a series of recommendations, aimed at building on the region's successes and empowering local communities to develop their own solutions.

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Community innovation delivers results

Labour came into power pledging to deliver a "devolution revolution" across England, but the inaugural JUSTICE North report found that local innovation often happened despite, rather than because of government action.

It points to examples from across the region where community innovations have delivered better results that Westminster-led policy.  

For example, Liverpool Crown Court has cut the average wait from charge to trial to 206 days - more than 100 days faster than the national average - through pioneering fast-tracks trials and other practical measures.

Another striking example is a Family Drug and Alcohol Court in Leeds, funded by the third sector, dealing with care proceedings involving parents with substance abuse issues. In the financial year 2023-24, it reported savings of more than £935,000, as well as a reduction in contested hearings, fewer children being placed into care and more being reunited with their families.  

Despite clear evidence that devolving decision-making to local leaders delivers better outcomes than central control, progress has been inconsistent and constrained by funding gaps and weak consultation, collaboration and evaluation.

The report calls on the government to build on the region's successes, giving communities and support they need to tailor solutions to local problems.

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Key Recommendations

JUSTICE North suggests eight principles for reform:

• Meaningful local consultation: Changes to justice functions must be developed with communities, rather than announced and imposed upon them.

• Accountability: Given the need for variation in successful justice devolution, clear oversight and responsibility are needed.

• Transparency: Without clear, accessible information on outcomes, cross-area comparisons are difficult, and policy learning is stunted.  

• Share best practice: Effective communication is essential to enable shared learning and improve the visibility of decision-making.

• Use the right tool for the job: Decisions about justice devolution should be guided by the nature of the function concerned, rather than institutional convenience or geographic symmetry.

• Bottom-up design: Locally-driven decision-making is essential to ensure justice functions are delivered in a way that responds to local need and secures buy-in from stakeholders.

• Long-term funding: Short-term grant arrangements and competitive bidding cycles undermine the long-term relationships and capacity required to deliver effective justice devolution.  

• Culture and institutional commitment: The most durable reforms are sustained by a shared purpose, genuine collaboration and institutional commitment.

In her forward, Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, writes: “Issues that often manifest inside the criminal justice system are often solved outside the system in places where people live and where their context is understood. As a Combined Authority, GMCA with its partners, can lead on system change and galvanise services to meet complex needs and underserved communities.  

“I urge a wider adoption and deepening of justice devolution, as our model, in partnership with Greater Manchester Probation, has grown from strength to strength and this report is timely as various aspects of devolution and reform of governance structures are being considered by Government."

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About JUSTICE North

JUSTICE North, our newest division, was established in 2025 to ensure that justice policy is informed by the very specific challenges and opportunities of the North of England. Home to over 15.5 million people, the region faces acute pressures across both civil and criminal justice.

Our goal is to redress the imbalance in national policy making: to map and analyse what works (and why), to support collaboration between local and national decision-makers, and to ensure that devolution in England evolves with justice, not around it, so that justice outcomes are fairer, more effective, and not determined by postcode.

Fiona Rutherford, Chief Executive of JUSTICE, said: “This government came into power with the promise to give people control of what matters to them. Yet current Westminster focus could not be further from the task of giving communities a role in building justice systems they cantrust.”

“The Norths shows what’s possible when local leaders and citizens work together to match justice services to local needs. JUSTICE North aims to nurture and highlight these exciting green shoots while ensuring central government creates the conditions to bring justice closer to home for us."

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Read and download the full report

Click here to read and download the full report.

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