Working with the Criminal Justice System
Insights from our Thematic Workshop #4
Our workshop brought together 86 professionals from academia, criminal justice services, gambling harm organisations, and people with lived experience to explore the question, ‘What could good practice within Police settings look like to better support those affected by gambling harms?’
About our Criminal Justice Programme
There are links between harmful gambling and crime, whether crime is committed to support gambling or to pay off gambling-related debts. Gambling-related offending may include fraud, theft, domestic and financial abuse, and links into wider criminality or criminal circles.
Our Criminal Justice Programme looks to address the lack of funding, awareness, training and pathways to support people in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Our priority is ensuring that individuals in the CJS have access to support for gambling-related harms, helping to reduce harms for individuals, families, communities and society.
Resources Catalogue
View our collection of resources for those working in the Criminal Justice System to assist with identifying and supporting people with gambling-related harm.
What have we achieved so far?
Across the UK, GamCare and our network partners have been providing training, support and specialised treatment within the CJS. We currently work with a number of police custody suites, courts, prisons and probation services in order to support individuals affected by gambling-related harm.
Our successes so far include the following:
- Working with operational and strategic staff in the CJS to raise awareness of gambling-related harms
- Running thought leadership events that bring together Lived Experience, academics and professionals in the field as well as gambling support agencies
- Holding in-person Lived Experience Forum days, in Leeds and London
- Supporting the Prisons and Probation service in the development of their first national strategy to address gambling harms in the CJS
- Running pilots with London and Greater Manchester Probation Services
- Worked with the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Hertfordshire to provide a range of bespoke end to end services across the CJS
- Won the Howard Justice League Award for ‘Organisation of the Year’ in 2020 and shortlisted for the award in 2022
For more information about our work with the CJS, contact the Programme Manager, Chris Walker.
