CSJ Email News 12 July 2010

CSJ Green Paper on Criminal Justice and Addiction Launched
The Centre for Social Justice calls for a radical shake-up of Britain's broken criminal justice and addiction treatment systems today.

We have published a CSJ Green Paper calling for a radical overhaul of Britain's multi-billion pound failing criminal justice system.

The report, which also calls for root and branch reform of our fatalistic addiction treatment system, highlights a catalogue of failure in key areas such as policing, prisons, drug and alcohol addiction and courts and sentencing.

The CSJ launches the report at an event in Westminster this morning with Gavin Poole, CSJ Executive Director; Jonathan Aitken, CSJ Prison Reform Working Group Chairman (pictured); Martin Howe QC, CSJ Courts and Sentencing Working Group Chairman; Christian Guy, CSJ Senior Policy Specialist; with a response from Crispin Blunt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice. 

To find out more and to read the report visit the website at www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk

CSJ Awards 2010 

We are thrilled to be hosting the sixth annual CSJ Awards this week at a Central London venue. Over £70,000 in cash prizes are being awarded to poverty fighting groups that have shown excpetional courage and innovation in tackling Britain's toughest social problems.

Emma Crosby, GMTV presenter, (pictured) will host the CSJ Awards this year with senior politicians from the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative Parties joining others in presenting the CSJ Awards to winning groups.

Photos and videos of the winning groups will be on the website at www.csjawards.org

CSJ staff take part in Inner City Challenges

Two members of CSJ staff took up Inner City Challenges last month. Kirsty Turnbull, Office Administrator, and Chris Perfect, Policy Researcher, both spent two days volunteering at exceptional grassroots poverty fighting organisations.

Kirsty Turnbull visited the Jericho Road Project in Catford, SE London, to work with a team dedicated to Lewisham's homeless. She volunteered in the outreach dinner, joining the charity's Director, Simon Allen, on a street walk to meet the homeless, and participated in the charity's group activities. "It was amazing," said Kirsty, "I'm now looking into charities I can volunteer at closer to home. The team and clients at the Jericho Road Project were inspirational."

Chris Perfect, meanwhile, visited BAC O'Connor, the addiction treatment centre in Burton. He volunteered for two days at the charity that works to restore men and women with addictions to alcohol and drugs to full recovery from substance use. "BAC O'Connor are an exceptional group of people," Chris enthused on his return.

The CSJ regularly place staff in voluntary sector projects for placements as they are the most effective reminder of the individuals we seek to support.

CSJ INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY There is still one more voluntary internship available at the CSJ from 6 September 2010. We are looking for an organised individual with excellent writing and administration skills, preferably with experience of writing for a website or University newspaper, and with an eye for detail and organising events. The ideal candidate would anticipate volunteering for 11 months. For more details visit www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/internships

LATEST CSJ ALLIANCE MEMBER: A WAY OUT Chris Bullivant, CSJ Projects Director, and Joseph Colman, CSJ Alliance Assistant, visited A Way Out on 22 June in Stockton on Tees. A Way Out, based in Stockton, reaches out to vulnerable young people, especially girls. It runs several personalised programmes including education support, mentoring, therapy, drug education, family support and all round emotional and physical care. Find out more at www.awayout.co.uk

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www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/support

The Centre for Social Justice
9 Westminster Palace Gardens, Artillery Row, London, SW1P 1RL
t. 020 7340 9650
admin@centreforsocialjustice.org.uk
www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk