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Content Policy

The Criminal Justice Hub (CJH) website is committed to the highest editorial and ethical standards in the provision of all its content and related services.

The site is funded by Conviction. The content, data and services on the CJH website are commissioned by Conviction and delivered by volunteers.

The CJH website is committed to providing objective and trustworthy information and guidance on all aspects of criminal justice.

The overall CJH website content policy covers all content, both data-driven – directories and comparative data – and editorial. The latter includes written articles, video and audio resources, interactive tools, infographics and images.

In all instances, we strive to ensure that data is accurate and clearly presented and that editorial content is evidence-based – in other words, that it is founded on the best knowledge currently available.

All legal content on the CJH website is checked and approved by an appropriately qualified and experienced lawyer. Where necessary, when creating this content, we consult practising barristers and other professionals with direct and current experience of the relevant topic

The following sections set out our editorial principles, standards and processes.

Principles

Accuracy

Content on the CJH website will be accurate, balanced and transparent. Information given will be based on the best available evidence and data sources. Where content contains conjecture or opinion, this will be clearly indicated.

Impartiality and diversity of opinion

The CJH website will be objective, impartial and even-handed. Where views differ and no scientific consensus can be found it will reflect all significant strands of opinion and state the uncertainty clearly.

Accountability

The CJH website is accountable to its users and will deal fairly with them. It will be open to admitting mistakes and encourage a culture of learning via user feedback. Its editorial processes will be transparent.

Serving the public

The CJH website will put its users’ interests first when sourcing and developing content. It will consult widely with relevant professional bodies, criminal justice organisations, charities and other interest groups but serving the ordinary citizen will remain paramount.

Taste and decency

All content on the CJH website will be suitable for a general audience and will not include material that might reasonably be deemed offensive. Where content includes explicit sexual information it will be clearly flagged.

Privacy

The CJH website views its users’ privacy as paramount and, barring legal order, will not divulge any correspondence or personal information it may hold about them without their prior and explicit permission.

Funding

The CJH website is funded by Conviction. It does not carry advertising and does not accept corporate sponsorship.

Standards

Staff interests and independence

The CJH website has a dedicated volunteer content team. It has a clear mandate to produce accurate, balanced and transparent information.

No member of the volunteer team will be asked or is permitted, to provide favoured treatment to any partner organisation, and all volunteers must fully disclose any financial or other interests they may have in any criminal justice-related companies or organisations. Such interests must be reported to the site’s Content Director at the time of engagement or at the point the interests arise thereafter.

Editorial process

Research

The evidence-based knowledge that informs all CJH content is derived from peer-reviewed research and from the direct experience of lawyers, other criminal justice professionals, offenders and the wider public.

In pulling together this knowledge to provide users with a rounded and balanced package of material on a particular subject, the CJH website requires its journalists to consult the following resources:

For peer-reviewed legal research, they consult Westlaw UK and LexisNexis, which has developed a system for accrediting and classifying different types of research evidence with respect to its quality.

Where knowledge of direct experience is required, they consult:

  • practising barristers and other legal professionals with direct and current experience in dealing with the criminal justice issue under investigation
  • national charities with recognised expertise and specialist interest
  • offenders and ordinary members of the wider public who may be directly affected by a topic or issue
  • offender organisations

Resources used in the development of content are available on request, via the Contact link at the bottom of every page on this site.

Production

Once a piece of content has been researched and drafted, it is edited by a senior member of the CJH website editorial team. It is checked for:

  • accuracy
  • balance
  • accessibility
  • tone

Legal sign-off

Before any content containing legal information is published on the CJH website:

  • it must be signed off by a member of the internal (Conviction) team confirming that it is accurate, safe and has been developed in the light of relevant evidence
  • it may also be read and approved by other appropriately qualified and experienced legal professionals (and the internal Conviction team may require that it is) but final legal sign-off is provided by the internal Conviction team

Publication sign-off

Prior to publication, if there is an embargo from central or local government, content must be approved and/or scheduled approval date, either by the department or agency concerned or Conviction, who checks it for alignment with that policy.

Final editorial checks

Final content is then checked for:

  • common factual errors
  • spelling
  • grammar
  • adherence to house style
  • overall presentation

Review of content

The editorial content on the CJH website is reviewed systematically. All editorial content is reviewed at least every 3 years.

Evidence updates to published content, as well as feedback from users and stakeholders, are considered on a day-by-day basis as they arrive, and content is reviewed and amended immediately if necessary.

Publication dates are displayed on all content.

New content in development

We are developing various new content products that are tested with the public before they go live. We signpost to users that these are prototypes and not final products. Not all the provisions of this policy apply to content in development.

Feedback and complaints

The CJH website welcomes feedback on all its content. There are 2 ways to provide feedback:

  • Comments – You can comment on and rate Criminal Justice services on this site. View our comments policy. You can also rate article pages using the Ratings facility at the foot of each page.
  • Contact – you can contact us using the CJH website feedback form that will be sent to our Volunteer team. The team will pass on your feedback to the appropriate editorial team member. Alternatively, you can email us at [email protected].

Complaint process

In the event that a complaint is made about a piece of content that cannot be resolved by the CJH journalist, the matter will be escalated to the site’s Content Director.

Note: If you wish to make a complaint about our content or any operational issues, please email [email protected]. Additionally, you can take a look at the Conviction website. For more detailed information, see the Conviction complaints policy.