Crime and justice after the election: what are the parties proposing?

With a general election due shortly, this article sets out the main platforms of the three main political parties and discusses some of the central proposals and their implications. Policies from all parties are being trimmed to take account of anticipated reductions in public expenditure and have tended to focus on traditional areas of policing and prisons. They also focus on questions of accountability and implementation - the how as opposed to the what things are done. The implications for academics and practitioners are, whatever government takes office later this year, to not only see if it is able to achieve beneficial outcomes but also to start testing its delivery mechanisms against evidence.