Christina is a prison researcher interested in the topics of love and prison reform. She is currently involved in a study about debt in prison on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), working with Dr Kate Gooch (PI) at the University of Bath. In her own research she is currently exploring alternative prison set-ups (e.g. the APAC in Brazil and Europe).

End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) are a group of feminist organisations and experts from across the UK, working to end violence against women and girls in all its forms. Made up of specialist women’s support services, researchers, activists, survivors and NGOs, they believe that violence against women is not inevitable and work to tear up the systems that enable it and build a fairer world in its place.

Equal Vision is a youth research and policy organisation addressing issues of social injustice.

The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies stand for a fair, effective and accountable justice system, in a society less dominated by criminalisation and punishment, because it has developed better ways of preventing and addressing the problems of crime.

It creates lively spaces for collaboration and learning, where conventional criminal justice policy agendas are scrutinised and challenged, fresh knowledge and ideas are discussed, and transformational solutions are developed.

Ruth Sellin is a PhD student and Associate Lecturer at the University of Lincoln. Their doctoral work is exploring the gender-responsiveness if the criminal justice system, specifically in the case of women victim-offenders. To this end, she is conducting interviews with women victim-offenders, as well as police officers, lawyers and practitioners who all have experience with women victim-offenders in the CJS. Ruth’s aim is to provide a cohesive view of the issues and barriers this cohort faces in the CJS due to their dual experience of victimisation and criminalisation.

Flora is a HCPC registered forensic psychologist, evidence-based practice specialist, and founding partner of KTA Research and Consulting  Her career spans over 20 years with HMPPS where she facilitated offending behaviour programmes, and provided psychological consultancy. Later, as Evidence Lead in HMPPS’s Evidence-Based Practice Team, she worked with senior leaders, policymakers, and frontline staff to embed evidence-based practice across the service, including prisons, probation and youth custody. Flora has published widely on topics such as prison culture, procedural justice, and electronic monitoring. Since January 2022, Flora has also served as Editor of the Prison Service Journal, a peer-reviewed publication promoting discussions on prison and criminal justice issues.

David’s doctoral research centres around the use of AI and emerging technologies in the criminal justice systems of both England and Wales and Japan. He has had long term involvement in the criminal justice system in England and Wales as a practitioner and trade union activist, and more recently as a policy lead.

Dr Marian Duggan is a reader in Criminology, whose research centres around the efficacy and impact of policies and practices aimed at preventing sexual and/or domestic violence. This has  included analysis of Clare’s Law, and sexual misconduct in university settings.

Gemma’s research interests lie in desistance, digital technology in desistance-orientated work, youth justice, evaluation methodology, & co-production. Gemma’s underpinning research ethos is collaborative, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary and impactful work. She works closely with several public, private, and third-sector organisations to advance knowledge transfer between academia and practice 

Tania Goddard is a PhD student at the University of Salford whose research explores whether people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) can be fit to plead, stand trial and effectively participate in criminal proceedings. 

The Centre for Justice Reform is a group of researchers, practitioners and community members studying the ‘justice’ in the criminal justice system. The Centre is interested in addressing the multiple challenges facing criminal justice, both nationally and internationally. The Centre takes a strategic focus on penal policy reform, international justice and human rights, and women’s justice.

Dr Mary Fraser is a modern social historian of the police. Her current work considers the extended role of the police, particularly in preventing civil unrest in the First World War. Her primary data sources are occupations journals. aims to produce research that informs policy and practice and advances our understanding of justice.

Madeline is an Associate Professor at the University of Greenwich. Madeline’s research interests are focused on women’s experiences in the justice system and trauma-informed approaches to rehabilitative practice. Madeline is professionally qualified as a Probation Officer and has specialised in working with women on community supervision and in custody. She has previously acted as Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Community Justice/Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) – the qualifying award for trainee Probation Officers.

David Adlington-Rivers is a PhD researcher exploring hope and resilience for people in and released from prison, and the role it plays in crime desistance. David has published a self-help book, Freedom is in the Mind, about the power of hope for people in prison.

Dr Natalie Rutter’s current research work focuses on the stigmatisation of criminalised women, and the role of social media within this. General research interests and focus fall within the areas of desistance, gender, stigmatisation and probation delivery with a focus on narrative, visual and inclusion methodologies.

Sarah Learmonth’s PhD research explores the effectiveness of bail use in rape cases from the perspective of adult female survivors and is an extension of her Masters study on bail use in rape cases.

The methodology includes primary interviews with women survivors and professionals in universities, police, social care, housing, barristers, solicitors and magistrates to explore what influence bail as protection discourse has on their affective evaluation of survivor allegations and claims to protection in the wider safeguarding framework. Survivors’ voices, indeed victims of any offence, have been consistently absent from any government consultations, policy, or legislation reform on bail, so it is in this context she argues the nexus of myth, discourse and affect serve ideological agendas with regard to the use of bail in rape cases, inhibiting knowledge construction in favour of preserving systemic authority.

A key focus of Professor Layla Skinns’ research is police detention, in England and Wales, but also in other parts of the Anglophone world. In this setting, Layla examines police powers and their relationship with the law, police cultures and police discretion, and furthermore, how this impacts on equality and on state-citizen relations. She is also interested in how the public – particularly detainees – perceive the police, which links her research to police legitimacy and ‘good’ policing.

Over the last 15 years she has led research projects funded by the British Academy, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Economic and Social Research Council. The most recent of these is the ‘good’ police custody study, which sought to ‘robustly’ examine what is meant by ‘good’ police custody and to instigate changes to police custody policies and practices in England and Wales.

Professor Nicholas Hardwick’s research, teaching and practice builds and reflects on his previous roles leading organisations in the CJS. Nicholas’ particular interests are accountability in the criminal justice system, the administration and management of the prison system, and the impact on and implications of digital technologies for justice.