Could personalisation reduce re-offencing? Reflections on potential lessons from British social care reform for the British criminal justice system.

Source: (2013) Journal of Social Policy. 42(4):721-741.

Rising prison numbers and high rates of re-offending illustrate the need for criminal
justice reform. In the social care sector, the ‘personalisation revolution’ has resulted in the near
eradication of long-term, institutional care for the majority of people with disabilities and
many frail older people, increasing satisfaction. This paper examines what this has entailed
and considers the case for introducing personalisation in the criminal justice system. It
concludes that criminal justice reformers can learn fromthe social care experience and suggests
how personalisation might fit within the current criminal justice reform agenda. However,
introducing personalisation will pose significant challenges, perhaps the biggest being the need
to change criminal justice culture. (author’s abstract)