The awards process

May 14

nominations open

July 27

nominations close

August

Initial sift to select the shortlist for each category

September

cross-agency sifting group to select the finalists in each category

September

ministerial judging panel select the winner and runners up in each category as well as the overall winner of the Justice Shield

20 October

awards ceremony in London. Winners and runners up announced.

All nominations will be collected centrally and will undergo an initial sift by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform based on the criteria. The aim of this process will be to produce a long-list of ten nominations per category. This long-list will then be presented to a sifting group made up of senior criminal justice professionals, representatives from key voluntary organisations and other partners. They will work in groups to consider nominations for particular awards, and agree finalists for each award.

These finalists will all be invited to the awards ceremony in October.

The finalist's nominations will be submitted to the ministerial judging panel, chaired by Baroness Scotland. This panel will agree the winner and the runners up in each category. They will also agree on the recipient of the Justice Shield, the overall winner of the Justice Awards.

The winners will be announced at the ceremony in London in October.

All nominations submitted for an award will simultaneously be copied to the relevant Local Criminal Justice Board. Some areas will then use this information to invite nominees and nominators to a local event of some kind, recognising staff in that region.