capitalisation
For general terms, follow the guidance in the style guide on GOV.UK.
There’s not a standard approach to capitalising acronyms or initialisms when they are written out in full.
You may decide to capitalise abbreviations when:
- you’re referring to the proper name for something
- it would help users to understand what you’re referring to
- the full version of the abbreviation is long
Please share your decisions on capitalising abbreviations in the content community Slack channel (MoJ staff only). These entries will be added to the content style guide to ensure consistency.
case list
Use 2 separate words. Not caselist. For example, ‘return to case list’.
case note
Use 2 separate words. Not casenote.
caseload (changing caseload)
If your service lets users change their ‘caseload’, always use ‘change location’ instead. ‘Caseload’ is a legacy term from NOMIS that would need explaining to users.
Category (such as Category A prison)
Always capitalise and write out in full. For example, ‘Category A’.
Do not use ‘Cat’.
Use ‘Category A – high’ for high-profile prisoners.
Use ‘Category A – provisional’ for provisional Category A prisoners.
cell
Cell or cells should be used to refer to the rooms that people in prison live in. There are some instances in the open, female and youth estate where alternatives such as ‘dormitory’ or ‘room’ may be more appropriate. But for services rolled out across the entire prison estate, cell is likely to be the most widely understood term.
There is also research to suggest prisoners do not see ‘cell’ as a stigmatising term, but an accurate description of accommodation in prisons across England and Wales.
Cell Sharing Risk Assessment (CSRA)
Use CSRA. This is more well known than the full version.
Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP)
Use CSIP. This is more well known than the full version.
clock
See guidance on using the 12 or 24-hour clock.
closed prison, closed conditions
Lower case.
This is a probation practitioner who works in the community and not in prisons.
It’s better than ‘community offender manager (COM)’, although someone may have this job title. Refers to a probation officer, probation support officer or senior probation officer.
contractions
Follow the style guide on GOV.UK and avoid using negative contractions like can’t and don’t.
Avoid contractions with a noun and verb such as ‘the computer’s fast’. This may be misunderstood as showing possession. Use ‘the computer is fast’ instead.
You can use positive contractions like we’ll and you’ll.
We’d like to test positive contractions with users to find out if they’re more difficult to understand.
CRN (case reference number)
The reference assigned to a person on probation in NDelius. Not NDelius number, case number or CRN number.
The initialism is likely to be familiar to NDelius users without needing to be spelt out. The format is 2 characters, 4 numbers and then 2 characters for example ‘RG5108AC’.