Many people in prison have severe mental health problems, but what is being done to help these individuals resettle when released? And how can policy and practice reduce reoffending rates, while ensuring prison leavers with mental illnesses are given the support they need to reintegrate into the community? Here, Dr Jane Senior, Professor Jennifer Shaw, and Dr Charlotte […]
Locked up like adults – COVID-19 experiences for children in custodial settings
During the early period of the pandemic, there was a lack of detailed guidance for many groups, including the secure estate. For children in custodial settings, this meant staff often applied measures intended for adult prisons, in lieu of any other information. Here, Dr Charlotte Lennox shares her research showing children in such settings were an invisible group […]
Fighting the war with drugs: How can psychedelic-assisted therapies help veterans?
Around 17% of recent military veterans in the UK report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and currently available treatments don’t work for many of these. Here, Professor Jo Neill, Dr Verity Wainwright, and Frances Smith report the findings of a new study into the role that psilocybin (the active constituent of so-called ‘magic’ mushrooms) […]
Making light work: Recommendations for healthy lighting
Light exposure has important effects on human health and wellbeing, regulating our sleep/wake cycles, and influencing our mental and physical health. Advances in our understanding of the role of light in health, and emerging lighting technologies, now present opportunities to adjust lighting to promote optimal physical and mental health and performance. In this blog, Professor […]
The Pandora Papers: A Pandora’s box for the offshore industry, or a case of ‘as you were’?
The Pandora Papers are the latest data leak offering a glimpse into the ways in which powerful individuals and corporate entities manage their finances with the assistance and direction of third party, professional intermediaries such as company formation agents and trust and company service providers. The data leak consists of just under 12 million files […]
Is the current appeal system acting ‘In the Interests of Justice’? – a review of the report of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice
Suzanne Gower, PhD researcher, and former managing director of the legal charity APPEAL shares her thoughts on the long-awaited report of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice, “In the Interests of Justice”. Suzanne played a leading role in helping establish the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice (APPGMJ). She then worked to set […]
Why the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner are not enough
Established in 2004, the role of the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales was created to provide a champion for the interests of victims, for whom the criminal justice system may be difficult or overwhelming to navigate. The role provides an independent voice for victims at government level and aims to reinforce the status of […]
Why victims of cyber crime deserve ‘Cyber CPR’
COVID-19 has seen an increased vulnerability to cyber crime. In this blog, originally from our On Digital Trust publication, Professor Emma Barrett, Professor Danny Dresner, and Dr David Buil-Gil outline why victims of cyber crime need greater protection, including a raft of ‘CPR’ measures designed to help them recover quickly. Cyber crimes cost billions of […]
How the digital space oils the wheels of unlawful and unethical business
As COVID-19 forces more and more of our daily lives into cyberspace, how well regulated is the digital realm, and how can criminals exploit its grey areas? In this blog, originally from our On Digital Trust publication, Professor Nicholas Lord explains how criminals exploit the murkiness of the digital space to siphon off and launder […]
Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021: Does the inclusion of ‘relatives’ go far enough in addressing the issue of adolescent to parent violence?
The Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-2021 will receive its third reading today. Once this long awaited Bill passes through Parliament, assuming it receives Royal Assent, it will ultimately mean that for the first time in England and Wales, there will be a criminal offence of domestic abuse. In this blog, Caroline Miles and Rachel Condry examine […]