In this episode, Matthew talks to Dr Julie Parsons and James. Julie is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Plymouth. Since completing her PhD on the sociology of food in 2014, she has conducted a series of externally funded research projects with LandWorks* (https://landworks.org.uk), a resettlement and rehabilitation scheme that works with people in prison and those at risk of going to prison. This includes an Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) funded project that documents the desistance journeys of people on placement at LandWorks through a series of interviews and co-created blog posts https://penprojectlandworks.org. James is currently on placement at LandWorks and in this interview he talks candidly about his route into the criminal justice system, as well as how he is progressing at LandWorks. Students studying the BSc (Hons) Sociology programme at the University of Plymouth have the opportunity to volunteer at LandWorks, which is highlighted at the end of this documentary film: ‘Finishing time and moving on, life after punishment’ https://youtu.be/ALEj2qlYaxo.

To read more about Julie’s work https://plymouth.ac.uk/staff/julie-parsons

*LandWorks is the winner of the Criminal Justice Alliance Award (2021) for the ‘Outstanding Local or regional Organisation’ https://criminaljusticealliance.org/cja-awards/