Justice, opportunity and institutional performance.
JPI focuses on areas where rights, vulnerability, public services and opportunity intersect. Each area is considered through the same lens: access, fairness, practical delivery, evidence and measurable outcomes.
Access to Justice
Affordable advice, understandable information and timely routes to redress are central to a functioning justice system. JPI follows legal aid, court delay, advice provision, self-representation and the practical barriers that prevent people enforcing their rights.
JPI focus: early information, effective signposting, sustainable advice provision, accessible institutions and the experience of people navigating the system without professional support.
Youth Justice
Children entering the justice system often present with complex needs. Prevention, diversion, education, family support and rehabilitation therefore matter alongside accountability and public protection.
Current context: the latest annual statistics recorded just over 8,100 child first-time entrants in the year ending March 2025, the lowest number on record. The 2026 youth justice reform programme places greater emphasis on earlier intervention and prevention.
Criminal Justice & Rehabilitation
Effective criminal justice requires timely courts, proportionate sentencing, safe custody, credible supervision and routes away from reoffending. JPI examines the full pathway rather than treating prison as an isolated institution.
Current context: England and Wales had 85,858 people in prison on 30 June 2026. Sentencing and release arrangements are changing through the Sentencing Act 2026, while probation continues to carry a substantial caseload.
Domestic Abuse
Safety, housing, finances, children, immigration status, policing and access to legal remedies can all interact when somebody experiences domestic abuse. Support therefore needs to be coordinated and trauma-informed.
Current context: the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that around 3.8 million people aged 16 and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2025.
Violence Against Women & Girls
JPI follows prevention, victim support, court experience, perpetrator accountability and the quality of institutional response. The cross-government strategy published in December 2025 sets an ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Current context: specialist courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offence cases are being rolled out across Crown Courts in England and Wales over two years following the September 2026 announcement.
Policing, Powers & Accountability
Public confidence depends on powers being lawful, effective, proportionate and accountable. JPI examines how policing powers operate in practice, particularly where their impact falls unevenly across communities.
JPI focus: transparency, procedural fairness, community confidence, safeguards, complaints and evidence about effectiveness.
Stop & Search
Stop and search remains a significant point of contact between police and the public. JPI is interested in whether use is intelligence-led and effective, how outcomes are measured and how disparities affect legitimacy and trust.
JPI focus: effectiveness, proportionality, ethnic disproportionality, recording, supervision and community experience.
Mental Health, Vulnerability & Justice
Mental ill-health can affect a person at every stage of the justice system—from crisis contact and policing to court participation, custody, release and resettlement. JPI supports approaches that identify vulnerability early and connect people to appropriate care.
Drug & Alcohol Dependency
Dependency can be linked with health, poverty, homelessness, family breakdown and offending. Treatment and rehabilitation therefore need to be understood as part of public protection as well as public health.
Current context: 329,646 adults were in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services in England in 2024–25, the highest number since reporting began.
Housing & Homelessness
Housing insecurity can create legal, financial, educational and health consequences that persist for years. JPI examines prevention, advice, temporary accommodation, out-of-area placements and the effect on children and families.
Current context: 135,580 households were in temporary accommodation in England on 31 March 2026, including households containing 177,530 children.
Employment & Economic Security
Workplace rights, insecure work and access to effective dispute resolution can determine whether employment provides genuine security and mobility. JPI follows the practical effect of changes in employment law as they are implemented.
Current context: implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 continues through 2026 and 2027; from 1 October 2026 the standard time limit for many Employment Tribunal claims increased from three to six months.
Victims' Rights
Victims need timely information, specialist support, meaningful participation and confidence that institutions will communicate clearly. JPI examines whether reforms improve the experience of victims in practice rather than only on paper.
Equality & Discrimination
Differences in access, treatment and outcomes require careful evidence rather than assumption. JPI supports transparent examination of disparities and practical steps that make institutions more accessible and fair.
Social Mobility & Opportunity
Talent is widely distributed; access to networks, professional exposure and opportunity is not. JPI works to create pathways into education, employment, enterprise and leadership while measuring the barriers that prevent progression.
Live programme: Opportunity Bridge — Open 100 Doors.
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