Criminal Law Reform Now

The principal aim of this article is to introduce a new criminal law reform initiative: The Criminal Law Reform Now Network (CLRN Network). The article begins in Part 1 by setting the scene for law reform in this jurisdiction, exposing and discussing four major challenges that await any would-be reformer or network: 1) The Political Red Line, 2) The Political Preference for Simple Headlines, 3) The Political Indifference to Principles of Criminalisation, and 4) The Division Between Academics and Practitioners.

From here, in Part 2, we introduce the ambitions and processes envisaged for the new CLRN Network. Launched in 2017, the mission of the CLRN Network is to facilitate collaboration between academics and other legal experts to gather and disseminate comprehensible proposals for criminal law reform to the wider community. The aim is to include members of the public and mainstream media as well as legal professionals, police, policymakers and politicians. Proposals from the CLRN Network might require legislation, but will not be restricted to such projects. Reforms which public bodies such as the Home Office, Police or CPS could bring about by internal policies may be included, as well as reforms which require the support of some of the judiciary, bearing in mind the proper judicial constraints on law making. The CLRN Network will be ready to consult with and make suggestions to anyone who has the power to bring about reform.