CPS Commissioned for Criminal Justice Project

29 July 2004

The Centre has been commissioned by the Crime and Society Foundation, a project of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, School of Law, King's College London to undertake a literature review on the marketisation of public services and the implications of the National Offender Management System (NOMS).

The NOMS proposals involve the marketisation of the prison and probation services in England and Wales over a five year period. The introduction of 'contestability', a purchaser/provider split and outsourcing will have far reaching impacts. The objectives of the project are to:

• Critically scrutinise the NOMS structure, with a particular focus on marketisation, the purchaser-provider split and the principles of 'contestability.
• Offer a critical account of the involvement of the non-state sector in the provision of 'correctional services'. with a particular focus on the private sector.
• Seek to place the NOMS proposals in the broader context of the government's public service reform agenda.

The research will include a critical history of marketisation of public services in Great Britain, with a particular focus on the criminal justice system.