ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an overview approach to criminal justice policy that was adopted by post-2010 governments and the implications that these hold for the future landscape of criminal justice policy. It discusses the scale of austerity measures on the criminal justice system. The chapter evaluates the extended role played by the private sector in delivering criminal justice services after 2010. It also examines the concept of the 'Big Society' and analyse its implications for the subsequent development of criminal justice policy. The Conservative government that replaced the Coalition government in 2010 remained committed to the use of austerity measures as the mechanism to eliminate the budget deficit and secure a surplus by 2020. One way to make financial savings is to prune the size of the criminal justice workforce. Technological developments such as virtual courts and video conferencing possess the potential to save the time of criminal justice practitioners by not requiring them to physically attend court.
