We give a voice to the people in the criminal justice system. Through their ideas we deliver change.
We were created by and are run by people who have been in prison and on probation. Lived experience means we engage empathetically instead of sympathetically.
We exist to reduce offending by working with the most marginalised people in and around the criminal justice system to make sure that practitioners and policy-makers hear their voices.
User Voice was founded in 2009 by Mark Johnson MBE, an ex-offender and former drug abuser. Who has gone onto becoming a best-selling author and respected social commentator.
Mark’s story is just one example of the transformative change which we strive to achieve for many others. Mark’s direct contact with the criminal justice system, and later as an employer of people who’d been in prison and consultant for government and other charities, left him convinced of the urgent need to create a model of service user engagement that is fair for all involved.
The principal aim was to foster dialogue between service users and service providers that is mutually beneficial, aiding rehabilitation and recovery and results in better and more cost-effective services.
