Young people seeking asylum in the UK face a double punishment if they commit a crime—first through the criminal justice system, then by the immigration system. A single conviction - even for a minor crime - can delay or destroy their asylum claims, a compounding injustice given their background experience.

Commons released our second report, in conjunction with the Migrants Law Project, investigating the unnecessary criminalisation of Young Asylum Seekers. Benny Hunter, the report author, exposes the systematic failures that trap these vulnerable people:

• Stop and search practices that deepen mistrust of police

• Controversial age assessments for unaccompanied child migrants based on appearance alone

• Absent interpreters or poor understanding of a defendant's native language leading to miscarriages of justice

• Clients not being advised of a potential defence under the Modern Slavery Act by lawyers 

Despite these challenges, we outline what needs to change to protect young people who've already survived trauma - to ensure all get equal access to justice. 

On 24 November 2022, given the increasing criminalisation of political activism in the UK, Commons hosted a roundtable event to talk through the legal and social issues connected to criminal cases and what more can be done to support vulnerable communities.

On Wednesday, 27 April 2022, Commons, the criminal law firm for social justice, hosted an exclusive online panel event discussing how holistic defence has a key role to play in the future of the UK criminal justice system.

The event was chaired by Sashy Nathan, co-founder of Commons and featured:

- Justine Olderman, Executive Director of the Bronx Defenders Service
- Luke Clements, Cerebra Professor of Law at Leeds University
- Sue James, CEO of the Legal Action Group
- Chris Blewitt, Crisis Navigator at Commons

In July 2016, in her first address as Prime Minister, Theresa May stood on the steps of Downing Street and promised to address racial and social inequalities in Britain.

In 2001 Major Charles Ingram, a contestant on ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’, was said to have cheated his way to the top prize of £1m by relying on coughs from an accomplice in the audience indicating the correct answers.

An allegation of fare evasion is one of the most common interactions many people have with the criminal justice system.

Our first community criminal justice training event took place on 22nd November, and it turned out to be a thought provoking and inspiring morning.

On 29 January 1993, the shadow home secretary stated “we should be tough on crime and tough on the underlying causes of crime.”

For our first Commons Sense we thought we would shine our (rechargeable) battery operated torch of truth on an under reported, little discussed issue in the criminal justice system; disclosure.