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Prisons and the probation services deal with some of the most excluded members of society, and research is needed to challenge the assumptions of the justice system and to promote change through good quality research and scholarly activity.

The focus of our interdisciplinary research is the theory and practices of punishment and rehabilitation, and the key agencies and professional groupings involved therein. The ������� is a key provider of professional qualifications to probation officers in England and Wales through the provision of a research-informed curriculum. 

Our group members work with a range of agencies that have involvement with the criminal justice system, nationally and internationally, to develop knowledge, expertise and ethical practices.

Current projects and research impact

Michelle McDermott, Laura Haggar and Jennifer Grant are engaged in the development of an edited book linking theory to practice for probation officers, with the capacity for reflection in and on action being seen as a core skill.

Dr Aaron Pycroft is currently focusing on the understanding of forgiveness within the processes of justice, and questions why punishment is a default position within those processes. In developing the concept of criminology as peacemaking, he is working with academics and practitioners in the UK and USA to explore the relationships between criminology, theology, and philosophy and the ways in which they underpin the practices of community and restorative justice. In developing this work Jasmine Wood as been awarded a PhD bursary to explore the co-production of forgiveness in community Justice (supervised by Aaron Pycroft) and both are working in partnership with Pushing Change a peer recovery organisation in �������.

Dr Aaron Pycroft and Dr Karl Nunkoosing and are working with the Apple Tree Community in developing a peacemaking approach to the problem of adults with multiple and profound learning disabilities who are trapped in the adult training unit system, psychiatric hospitals and prisons due to a lack of community resources.

Professor Francis Pakes’ ethnographic research focuses on comparative criminal justice and considers why arrangements are different in different places and what we can learn from each other. He has written about the nature of prisons in Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Dr Dennis Gough’s work has focused on the role of the voluntary sector, peer mentoring and multi-agency working within the delivery of community justice.

Megan Thomas is working with the University of Greenwich and �������'s School of Architecture on trauma-informed practice in the design and delivery of services for women within the criminal justice system.

Dr Adrian Needs research interests include the role of life events as precursors to homicide and processes involved in personal change. He’s involved in the area of therapeutic communities and improving interpersonal relations in custodial settings as a necessary part of the rehabilitative process more generally. Recent research has encompassed the problems of former military personnel in prisons and the problems that veterans can face in making the transition from military to civilian life.

Dr Dominic Pearson researches community justice and ‘what works’ in reducing re-offending, rehabilitative Custodial Environments and high-risk Offender Management.

Partnerships and collaborations

We work in close collaboration with charities and government departments to deliver research. For example, we have worked with the Ministry of Justice since 2003 to provide qualifying awards for probation officers — in that time over 2,000 students have qualified as probation officers from the �������.

Our other research partnerships include:

• Apple Tree Community
• Corrymeela Community
• Criminal Justice Alliance
• Forgiveness Project
• Police Foundation
• Prison Service 
• Probation Service
• Pushing Change
• Restorative Justice Council
• User Voice

Researchers