This collection examines contemporary challenges to the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

The chapters, written by established academics, rising stars and practising lawyers, seek not only to highlight these challenges but to offer solutions. The book examines issues with legal assistance in the police station, concerns relating to juror decision making and problems in and presented by both virtual hearings and the advent of the Single Justice Procedure Notice. The work also examines challenges surrounding vulnerability in the criminal justice system. Here, diversity includes vulnerability in the criminal trial, neurodivergence as well as issues with diversity and marginalisation in the criminal justice system as a whole. The book also discusses matters centred around sexual offending – including the attrition rate in rape cases as well as the recent development of ‘vigilante’ paedophile hunters and their acceptance as a viable limb of the criminal justice system. Finally, the volume looks at the post-conviction stage and examines recent prison policy through the lens of the human rights of the prisoner. The closing chapter examines the independence of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and highlights how recent changes have undermined this.

While focused on England and Wales, the topics discussed are of wider international significance and will be of interest to students, academics and policy-makers.

Ed Johnston is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Northampton, UK. His research interests are in the areas of disclosure, the role of the defence lawyer and rise of managerialism in an adversarial setting. Ed has recently published his monograph, The Role of the Defense Lawyer: Perceptions and Conceptions within a Changing System. He is the co-author of the Criminal Procedure and Punishment textbook and has published a number of articles concerning changes to the criminal justice process.