A central plank of the government’s commitment to overhaul the criminal justice system has been postponed by the new justice secretary, Liz Truss, amid concerns that it would be seen as too soft on offenders.

US-style “problem-solving” courts, in which judges review the progress of convicted offenders to ensure that they comply with their rehabilitation programme in return for staying out of prison, were championed by the former justice secretary, Michael Gove.

The initiative was hailed by prison reform groups as a sign that the government was committed to finding alternatives to locking up offenders and to ending stubbornly high recidivism rates. The courts, which tend to specialise in handling cases involving drug or alcohol addiction, hand down non-custodial punishments. They focus on identifying and dealing with an offender’s underlying problems in a bid to prevent them reoffending. Those who fail to engage with rehabilitation efforts can then be sent to prison.

When the initiative was unveiled in May, justice minister Caroline Dinenage said she hoped it would provide an alternative to prison for female offenders, who are considered to be particularly at risk behind bars. Gove was impressed by their impact on rehabilitation rates after a fact-finding mission to Texas last year. A pilot programme involving several courts was under development and is due to be formally launched later this year.

But it is believed that Truss does not consider the initiative a priority. An internal email sent to key members of the criminal justice system by the Ministry of Justice on Friday is understood to spell out her commitment to other prison reform programmes. While key staff involved in the project have been told the initiative could still happen, MoJ insiders suggest it is effectively being abandoned.

One insider speculated: “It appears that Liz Truss is sceptical. It looks too much like being nice to criminals and one of Michael Gove’s ‘lovely ideas’.”

Ben Summerskill, director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, a coalition of 110 organisations committed to improving the criminal justice system, was dismayed by the decision. He said: “It’s terribly sad that this element of the government’s much-welcomed criminal justice reform agenda is being sidelined. Wide evidence from Britain and America suggests that problem-solving courts – requiring offenders to address their drug, alcohol and other issues – are successful in getting many to change their lives.

“Most importantly, they’re successful at keeping those people off the tragic custody escalator that sees too many offenders remain in, and return to, prison.”

An MoJ spokesperson said: “We will be moving forward with problem-solving courts. We have one of the best legal systems in the world and are investing over £700m to reform and digitise our courts to deliver swifter justice.”