How is LinkSpace connected to a major speech by the Justice Secretary?

Posted on 19 March 2025 by Carla Francome

In February of 2025, our software LinkSpace was involved behind the scenes with a major policy announcement at the Ministry of Justice, and some of the Ctrl O technical team were busy working around the clock.

You may have read in the news that on the 12th February, the The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, gave a rousing speech, setting out her vision for the probation service. She spoke at the probation office in London, and outlined the importance of this work, describing how it “protects the public and makes our streets safer”.

During her speech, she also announced that some large changes were to be made to the rehabilitation courses that would be offered to thousands of convicted criminals by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

So why was this relevant to us at Ctrl O? Well, we needed to adapt our software LinkSpace to reflect these policy changes, and fast. But it was all possible because of the flexibility of the system we work with.

LinkSpace: A tool used by thousands of probation officers

There are more than 20,000 probation officers in the UK, and over half of them, around 12,000, use LinkSpace to enable them to fulfil their role, and stay within the latest guidelines.

When an offender is found guilty, the probation officer will write a pre-sentencing report to the judge. It will include guidance on sentencing options, such as if prison is required and for how long, and also the other potential interventions that the offender should comply with.

It’s these interventions that LinkSpace is used for. They can include conditions for the offender, like tagging or curfews if they’re not in prison, and also training and courses (which can take place in prison or outside), around rehabilitation and public safety.

When in LinkSpace, the probation officer is prompted to answer questions about the offender’s case in terms of risk and need. The system then shortlists the interventions that are suitable for this individual, and this guidance is then passed on to the judge. It ensures the probation officer stays within national policy and legal guidelines.

The MOJ’s announcement involved a significant policy change which then altered the threshold for eligible interventions, so our team needed to adapt the shortlisting to reflect this, and quickly.

In only a day, our technical support lead Oliver Taylor was able to reconfigure the system so that probation officers could see an updated shortlist, that was in line with such a high profile announcement. And he continued work over the next few weeks, making sure everything was operating smoothly.

It has been rewarding for us at Ctrl O to be see how adapting our software can help teams in the civil service carry out their jobs effectively, to stay in line with government policy.

You can find out more about what LinkSpace can do https://www.ctrlo.com/ – there’s an overview in the first few paragraphs, and do get in touch if you’d like to find out more.