As well as the yearly Research Programme the Department sometimes conducts special research programmes. These enable it to commission several projects to cover areas of particular topicality or pressing policy interest.
Currently under way is the Programme of Research into a Courts System based on the needs of a diverse and multi-cultural society, generally referred to as the "Courts and Diversity" programme.
When this programme was first announced it was determined that the most pressing area for research was that of race and ethnicity, including the perceptions of people who use the courts. This has been the focus of the first phase of the programme, but its scope will broaden in subsequent phases.
Four projects were commissioned in the first phase. These were:
The Introduction of a Question on Ethnic Background into the Civil Justice System - to look at what statistics were being collected within the Civil Justice System, and explore different possibilities for doing this, in consultation with court users
Perceptions and Lack of Trust in the Criminal Justice System
Ethnic Awareness in Public Family Law Cases - a regional study of the extent to which race and ethnicity play a role in Family Law Cases
Possessions Cases - to look at the experiences and expectations of people from various ethnic communities of housing and possessions cases
A further four projects are being commissioned in the second phase.
Ethnic Diversity and the Jury System
The Experience of Magistrates from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds
Ethnic Diversity and the Tribunal System
The Experience of Minority Ethnic Families of Care Proceedings