Priorities for criminal justice reform

Criminal justice systems, and particularly the judiciary, play a vital role in protecting society and acting as an important check on powerful groups. The rule of law also underpins social justice and lies at the heart of effective government. While reforms and innovations can help create justice systems that deliver, it is important that these systems consider what citizens want and need.

In this paper, Deloitte highlights the strategic choices that help determine the aims of a justice system:

• Prevention vs. response
• Criminal justice vs. social justice
• Punishment vs. rehabilitation
• Long-term trust vs. short-term crime control

None of the four strategic choices above are pure trade-offs, however. But asking “what if” questions can be a simple and effective method for examining priorities and can help provide the clarity needed to transform the results governments deliver for their citizens.