Pathways Education Project: Our Initial Observations On The Times Crime and Justice Commission Report

Reform Must Focus On Prevention

A Welcome Spotlight – What the Report Gets Right

The Times Crime and Justice Commission report shines a necessary spotlight on the cracks and crises within our justice system. The recognition that reform is not only overdue but essential is welcomed. The Commission’s call for a more connected, evidence-led, and rehabilitative system aligns with what frontline practitioners have been saying for years.

The rejection of outdated "tough on crime" slogans is particularly welcome. We also appreciate the focus on reducing offending and reoffending. Recommendations here aim to course-correct an overstretched and reactive justice system.

The Commission has undertaken a mammoth task: to investigate and reform the system. Its effort to approach justice as an interconnected system—rather than addressing police, courts, prisons, or probation in isolation—is a step in the right direction.

From a frontline perspective, many of the Commission’s findings ring true. However, solutions must extend beyond analysis to build the capacity for real change.

Breaking the Cycle of Offending and Reoffending Before It Starts

Understanding Contributing Factors

Education, poverty, substance abuse, peer pressure, mental health, and family conditions all play a role in shaping outcomes. When someone appears before a magistrate or judge, they’ve often been failed by the systems intended to support them.

We see this in the young person who has been excluded from mainstream school and is now being groomed by older peers. It also resonates in the parent who, having grown up in care, now navigates poverty while raising a teenager at risk.

The Cost of Custody

Custodial sentences can do more harm than good. The trauma of prison, paired with a lack of post-release support and rehabilitative job opportunities, leads many back to old patterns. For some, especially those with complex needs, prison becomes a revolving door.

The report mentions the staggering cost of reoffending: over £23 billion a year. Keeping someone in prison costs the taxpayer over £50,000 a year. Investing a fraction of this into early intervention and prevention would not only reduce reoffending but could also prevent many crimes from ever occurring.

One urgent finding of the report is the connection between persistent reoffending and the lack of rehabilitation. Reoffending accounts for 80% of all crime. Tracing this backward reveals early life adversity, unmet needs, and systemic failures for those who required help or preventative intervention long before entering the justice system.

Prevention Should Not Be An Afterthought – But the Foundation

The Importance of Early Intervention

Effective prevention requires early intervention with young people at risk of exploitation, educational disengagement, or unaddressed trauma. This also calls for increased cross-sector cooperation. Local partnerships can bring police, teachers, youth workers, community organizations, families, and local authorities together before issues escalate.

It is vital to support families who feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of where to turn before crises occur. A school referral for a child on the brink of exclusion or a parent seeking help represents crucial moments where, with the right intervention, transformation is possible. Sadly, these moments are too often missed.

Shifting the Approach

The most important shift required in our criminal justice reform approach is to stop viewing prevention as a side note. Instead, it must form the foundation of our system. Early help should be a right, not a luxury. There needs to be a profound change in how we perceive prevention and its role in criminal justice.

Conclusion - From Slogans to Substance:

Pathways works directly with those affected—children and families navigating complex lives and ex-offenders in need of rehabilitation. Our experiences reinforce the belief that if we’re serious about reducing crime, we must address the root causes. A significant focus on prevention is vital.

While the report outlines a clear roadmap, it may put too much emphasis on system modernization and policing tactics. True reform requires deeper shifts in values, investment priorities, and who shapes the response—how, and why. Communities most affected by crime, especially those with firsthand experience, should be active participants in guiding and implementing reforms, not merely passive recipients.

Prevention takes time. It is not a single session or a headline intervention. Prevention is relational, continuous, and deeply human.

The Times Commission Report provides us a roadmap. The destination must be a future where fewer people enter the justice system. We aim for a system where preventative and rehabilitative support is visible, reachable, and dignified—where prevention is the starting point, moving away from merely reacting to harm toward actively avoiding it.

At Pathways Education Project, we are determined to shape a future where justice begins not in courtrooms but in communities.