What Does Trauma-Informed Practice Actually Look Like in Criminal Justice?

Although there are many ways in which trauma-informed care can be, and is being, delivered, it is often not clear what it means to be ‘trauma-informed’ in criminal justice settings. There is genuine uncertainty about what it means to implement the principles of trauma-informed practice, let alone to determine the extent to which efforts have been successful. In fact, local services are usually left to their own devices when deciding what trauma-informed practice should look like for them. And so, in this blog, I thought I would share some thoughts about what it means to ‘aspire to being trauma-informed’ in settings and services that are known for their lack of humanity and, at times, their capacity to create more trauma.

Trauma-informed practice is about relationships

The key point I would like to make is that trauma-informed practice is not really about having a new ‘policy’ or a new ‘program’. At its very heart, about the relationships formed between those who work for an agency and those who receive the service. For me, this means that every person who works in a trauma-informed agency should be expected to:

1. Give a shit: genuinely care about the well-being of those they work with and not see them as just ‘another case’.
2. Do what they say: and be frank about what is and is not possible, and transparent when things that have been offered cannot be provided.
3. Not always be on a downer: always offer encouragement and hope.
4. Never give up: are committed, not easily discouraged, and show forgiveness by not taking things personally.
5. Go the extra mile: do things that are above and beyond the ‘norm’.
6. Have time: so show people that they matter.
7. Look like they enjoy themselves, and in doing so, show they want to spend time with those they work with.
8. Be there when you are needed: and, in doing so, demonstrate care and concern whenever possible.
9. Not patronise: and walk alongside the people they work with – thinking and working through things together.
10. Not being afraid to give a bit of themselves: being more human, genuine, and trustworthy.

Trauma-informed care: genuine care for clients and staff

Of course, there will usually need to be some shifts in organisational practice if a culture is to be created that fosters this type of relational practice. Providing a service where people feel genuinely cared for inevitably relies on institutional and organisational structures in place to ensure that staff do not care, despite their working conditions, resources, and processes. It will also rely on caring for those who provide care. This means providing space and time for genuine reflection – and action – on the delivery and quality of care, as well as the challenges that staff will inevitably face when caring.

But perhaps most importantly, the quality of care provided can only be judged from the perspective of those who use the service. Their experience is crucial to determining whether or not a trauma-informed approach is actually being delivered. And in circumstances in which so many justice-involved people report feeling uncared for, this seems like a priority. Given how clear the evidence is that the experience of being cared for is far more important to efforts to change behaviour than punishment, surveillance, and supervision, the case for adopting a trauma-informed approach is, in my view, compelling. 

Acknowledgements: This blog draws heavily on the work of Mike Farrington and Ali Wigzell in their Briefing for the National Association for Youth Justice, The Heart of Practice: Building Cultures of Relational Care. For further information, please also refer to Jones, L., Winder, B., & Day, A. (2024). Being humane in inhumane places: A collection of papers about trauma-informed forensic practice. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 23, 313–320, and Day, A., & Malvaso, C. (2025). Key components of high-quality child-centred casework in youth justice. HM Inspectorate of Probation Academic Insights 2025/02. https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/research/academic-insights/