About

I am the Head of Law and Social Sciences and a Professor of Applied Criminology. I have a professional background working in the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, working in both prisons and in the community. Most recently as Governor of a large medium secure treatment site for people with sexual convictions. I co-founded a charity, (the Safer Living Foundation) in 2014 with the aim to prevent sexual (re) offending. I remain its Chair. I have a PhD in Socio-legal studies.

Professional interests

My professional interests are focused on the management and treatment of people with sexual convictions in custody and their experiences in the community after their release. I also have an interest in prison-based research. I also have a longstanding interest in mental health, and I have previously been a Mental Health Act Commissioner and a Trustee of a national mental health charity. I am a trustee of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, and the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse (NOTA).

Research interests

My main research interests include the resettlement of people convicted of sexual offences following a prison sentence. The prevention of sexual offending. The experiences of older people in prisons and the experiences of family members following the arrest and/or conviction of a person for a sexual offence.

Membership of professional bodies

I am a member of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse (NOTA) and the Association for the Treatment of Abuse (ATSA).

Qualifications

• PhD Socio-legal studies University of Nottingham
• MA Criminology University of Nottingham
• BA (Hons) CQSW Applies Social Studies University of Keele
• CCETSW practice teaching award 

Recent conferences

• May 2021: STOPSO conference
• June 2021: The Whatton Conference
• Sept 2021: Older People in Prison University of East Anglia
• Nov 2021: SOCAMRU webinar- Resettlement of people with sexual convictions
• Jan 2022: Hospice UK Palliative care in prison
• April 2023 University of Birmingham Forensic Psychology UK. Rehabilitation after prison
• May 2023 NOTA Cardiff. The Aurora Project. Prevention of Sexual Offending
• May 2023 Leeds Trinity University Howard League for Penal Reform. Reducing the Prison Population

Experience in industry

I worked in the Criminal Justice System for 30 years initially as a Probation Officer, and then as a senior leader, most recently as the Governor of HMP Whatton, a site holding people convicted of sexual offences. I have also been involved in a number of policy groups for the Ministry of Justice specifically involving work with estate transformation, security categorisation, and working with prisoners' families. Until October 2021, I was the national prisons lead for prisons holding people with sexual offences. I was also a member of the HMPPS Sexual Offences Management Board. 

International experience

I was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Travel Fellowship in 2013. I visited five prisons in the United States and five in Canada. I also visited a range of community facilities in both countries. I have also visited prisons in Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to advise on the development of services for people with sexual convictions, these include palliative and social care services and the use of volunteers in supporting resettlement.

Additional interests and activities

I am a Trustee of the Lucy Faithful Foundation a child protection charity, and the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse. I have previously been a trustee of Prisoners Abroad - a humanitarian charity supporting British nationals in prisons in foreign countries and with Rethink Mental Illness. I was a  patron of the Prisoner Penfriends until March 2023. I am a member of the editorial board of the Prison Service Journal.

In the media

I have been the subject of a BBC 4/World Service documentary on the life of HMP Whatton. I have been featured in an article in the Guardian newspaper when I received an award for Leadership Excellence in public service in 2018 and in the Times newspaper about my rehabilitation work. I have also been featured in news articles about the anti-libidinal drug project which was pioneered at HMP Whatton, and articles following the award of an OBE in the 2017 New Year’s honours list, and for receiving honorary doctorates from Nottingham Trent (2015) and Keele (2018) universities. I also was awarded an honorary professor title by Nottingham Trent University in 2021.

Interviewed for Radio 5 live May 2023 (Should prisoners be compelled to attend court for sentencing?).

Recent publications

Forwards:

• Sexual Crime the Experience of Imprisonment Palgrave McMillan. ISBN 978-3-030-04929-4
• Sexual Crime and Prevention Palgrave McMillian. ISBN 978-3-319-98242-7
• Thinking differently- employers' views on hiring people convicted of sexual offences. Prison Reform Trust. ISBN 978-1-908-504-67-8
• The Justice Women: A history of women working in the Criminal Justice System. Steven Wade 2014

Book Chapters:

• What should happen to people who commit sexual offences? Crime and Consequences. With professor Belinda Winder. The Monument Trust, 2019
• Management of prisoners with a history of sexual offences. Oxford Specialist Handbook of Prison Medicine and Health

Practice Journals

• Prison Service Journal
• July 2013 No 208 p43-48. Older Offenders the challenge of providing services to those aging in prison.
• January 2019 No 241 p32-45. Working with people with sexual convictions: an operational perspective.
• November 2020 No 251 p11-30. The transition from prison to the community of people convicted of sexual offences: Policy and practice recommendations

NOTA news

• July/August 2018 No 85. The Safer Living Foundation: overcoming barriers, returning people with sexual convictions to the community