Common Ground Justice Project hosts workshop at Unlocked Graduates 2026 Conference
Continuing our listening journey
The Common Ground Justice Project recently hosted a workshop at the Unlocked Graduates 2026 Conference in Birmingham, bringing together more than 100 practitioners working across the prison system to discuss how prisons can better promote accountability and contribution.
Unlocked Graduates is a leadership development charity that recruits and trains talented graduates to work as prison officers and future leaders across the prison service.
The workshop formed part of CGJP’s wider research programme listening to people across the country – including voters, victims and people with lived experience of the justice system – to identify areas of common ground on criminal justice reform. This event provided an opportunity to hear from those working inside the prison system every day, whose experience is critical to understanding what works in practice.
The session focused on accountability and contribution, two themes emerging strongly in our research as principles that command broad support across divides and point towards reforms that can cut crime and rebuild trust.
Practitioners highlighted how accountability can already take shape through responsibility and leadership roles inside prisons. As one attendee noted:
“The more responsibility that we give people, the more accountable they tend to become.”
Others pointed to the role of prisoner representatives and mentors in maintaining order and supporting others on wings:
“If you employ the right reps on the right wings, they can manage a wing, control and de-escalate conflict.”
Participants also shared examples of effective accountability and contribution in practice, including prison workshops where confiscated bikes are refurbished by prisoners and returned to the community, therapeutic communities where residents take shared responsibility for decision-making, and family literacy programmes helping fathers build stronger relationships with their children.
Many thanks to Unlocked Graduates for the invitation and to the many thoughtful frontline practitioners who contributed their ideas. Their insights will help inform the next stage of our research as we continue our journey of listening across divides – from voters and victims to those working inside the justice system – to help build a justice system that works and rebuilds trust.