The Transform Justice Podcast

The criminal justice system is bursting at the seams. But why is it so hard to fix this system in crisis? In this episode, Rob and Penelope are joined by Tom O’Grady, associate professor at UCL, and Campbell Robb, CEO of NACRO to discuss how the voluntary sector can advocate for better justice.

They discuss the impact of the media and public opinion and and ask the crucial question: if politicians know the system’s broken, why haven’t they done more to fix it?

Tom O’Grady @DrTomD_OG

Read the report, co-authored by Tom and Gemma Buckland, about what politicians and their advisors think about criminal justice reform: https://www.nacro.org.uk/resource/better-justice-report-march-2024/ 

Campbell Robb @Nacro

Find out more about the Better Justice partnership and NACRO’s work here: https://www.nacro.org.uk/better-justice-partnership/

Transform Justice
Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk
Twitter: @TransformJust1
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

England and Wales is one of a tiny number of jurisdictions worldwide in which lay people sit in judgement of their peers. Some argue that magistrates play a vital role bridging the courtroom and the community. But does this work in practice?

In this episode our hosts are joined by Robin Fenwick, former magistrate, and Dr Kate Leader, senior lecturer at Queen Mary University. They discuss why we have magistrates, what powers they possess, and what it's like to be a magistrate behind the scenes.

Robin Fenwick @RobinComms

Read more about Robin here: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64512612

Dr Kate Leader @leader_kate

Find out more about Kate's work here: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/items/leader.html

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

The US has guns, we have knives. Knife crime is often at the centre of our dialogue around crime, public safety, and urban youth culture. But is it on the rise?

In this episode hosts Rob and Penelope are joined by Jon Yates, chief executive of the Youth Endowment Fund, and Craig Pinkney, criminologoist and urban youth specialist. They discuss the loaded dialogue around knife crime, why people carry knives, and what could be done to reduce these crimes.

Jon Yates @YouthEndowFund

Read the latest report from the Youth Endowment Fund: https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/reports/beyond-the-headlines-2024/

Craig Pinkney @RealActionUK

Watch Craig’s TED talk on the roots of youth violence here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=uWNTMmktoCQ

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

With a general election just around the corner, all eyes are on the parties’ plans for a new government. In this special election episode, our hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation to discuss the parties’ plans for justice. 

Will more police, more prisons, and harsher punishments fix a justice system on its knees? And will a new government listen to the evidence around what works to reduce crime and prevent reoffending? 

This episode was recorded on 6 June 2024, before any manifestos were published.

Rick Muir @rickmuir1

Find our more about Rick’s work at the UK’s policing think tank here: https://www.police-foundation.org.uk/

Further Resources
Lib Dem manifesto: https://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto

Transform Justice
Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk
Twitter: @TransformJust1
Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Last year, 82 volunteers armed with booklets, pens and a desire to see justice in action took to London's magistrates' courts and observed over 1000 hearings. They diligently recorded what they saw and heard, and provided Transform Justice with a wealth of insights into the often unseen goings-on of the magistrates' courts.

In this episode, hosts Rob and Penelope are joined by passionate volunteer courtwatcher Premila Trivedi and senior lecturer and criminal justice researcher Becky Clarke of Manchester Metropolitan University. Together, they draw on the project findings as well as their own personal experiences to explore some critical questions: what challenges do court observers and defendants face in the magistrates' courts? How efficient and accessible are the courts, and are judgements fair and consistent?

Premila Trivedi

Premila is one of 82 volunteers who attended magistrates' courts around London from July to December 2023 contributed data to the CourtWatch London reports.

Becky Clarke @beckyjoyC

Learn more about Becky's work here:

https://www.mmu.ac.uk/research/groups/the-justice-project-sites-of-resistance

Further Resources

Read and download all three CourtWatch London reports here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/focus-areas/courtwatch-london/

Sign up to the CourtWatch mailing list to be informed if volunteer applications open again:

https://transformjustice.eo.page/courtwatchlondon

Transform Justice

Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

No one wants to be a victim of a scam, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Yet, whether it's phishing, benefit fraud, insurance scams, or online romance cons, fraud is only on the rise and now constitutes over 40% of all crime in the UK.

In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by experts Nicola Harding, CEO of We Fight Fraud, and Michael Levi, Professor of Criminology at Cardiff University. Drawing on years of research as well as personal experience, they explore what's causing fraud to skyrocket, and what could be done to curb it.

Dr Nicola Harding @NicolaAHarding

Find out more about Nicola's organisation We Fight Fraud here: https://www.wefightfraud.org/

And explore Nicola's academic research here:

https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/people/nicola-harding(0be522e0-d281-44cf-8250-1d342c5f6bd0)/publications.html

Professor Michael Levi

Explore Michael's academic research here:

https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/levi

Further Resources

CIFAS survey:

https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/fraudbehaviours23

Fair4All Finance and We Fight Fraud report:

https://fair4allfinance.org.uk/resources/as-one-door-closes-report/

Transform Justice

Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons. 

There are now more than 200,000 people on probation across England and Wales. The original duties of a probation officer were clear-cut: 'advise, assist, and befriend.'

But with staff shortages and unmanageable caseloads leading to limited contact time, and power imbalance built into each interaction, are probation officers able to develop meaningful relationships and help people to turn their lives around? Or is the system actually pushing people back into prison?

Joining hosts Rob and Penelope to discuss the ins and outs of probation are writer and speaker David Shipley who spent more than two years on probation, and community justice lecturer and former probation officer Julie Eden-Barnard.

David Shipley @ShipleyWrites

Read David's blog on probation here:

https://probationmatters.blogspot.com/2023/12/being-on-licence.html

And find out more about his work on his website:

https://www.david-shipley.com/

Julie Eden-Barnard @Julie_Eden

See Julie's academic work here: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/health-and-life-sciences/julie-eden-barnard/julie-eden-barnard.aspx

Further Resources

Read our report on the localisation of justice services here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Close-to-home.pdf

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

With prisons projected to hold 94,000 people by March 2025, and new miscarriages of justice emerging each week, it's clear our justice system is in crisis. In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob dive deeper into a handful of the biggest issues facing our criminal justice system today.

Penelope talks us through the single justice procedure, recently brought to mainstream attention in the aftermath of the Post Office scandal. She explains exactly how this system works (or rather - doesn't), how it's failing vulnerable populations, and what can be done about it.

And with multiple justice bills going through parliament, Rob takes a look at exactly what is causing the prison population to keep rising. Is sentencing getting harsher? And what could the Sentencing Council do about it?

Penelope Gibbs @PenelopeGibbs2

Read Penelope's insight on the single justice procedure here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight/should-those-who-allege-harm-prosecute-crimes-against-them/

Rob Allen @RobRobAllen

Read Rob's Transform Justice report 'The Sentencing Council and criminal justice: leading role or bit part player?' here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TJ_November_2020_IA_3.pdf

Further resources

Read Tristan Kirk's most recent coverage on the single justice procedure:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/single-justice-procedure-magistrates-minister-mike-freer-unfair-convictions-b1142751.htm

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

It is estimated that over half the prison population is neurodivergent, including people who are autistic or have ADHD or a brain injury. Is society's failure to understand neurodivergence leading to disproportionate criminalisation?

In this episode, Rob and Penelope are joined by MP and former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland and Angela Kirwin, criminal justice author. They discuss the factors that cause neurodivergent people to come into contact with the justice system, how they experience prison differently, and efforts to promote neuroinclusion across justice.

Sir Robert Buckland @RobertBuckland

Read the inspectorate report commissioned by Sir Robert here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/cjji/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/Neurodiversity-evidence-review-web-2021.pdf

Angela Kirwin @AngelaKirwinUK

Read Angela’s book ‘Criminal’ here: https://geni.us/CriminalPB

Further resources

Read the User Voice Report ‘Not Naughty, Stupid or Bad’ here:

https://www.uservoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/User_Voice_Neurodiversity_Dec_2023.pdf

Read the Transform Justice report on assaults on emergency workers here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/publication/protecting-the-protectors-do-criminal-sanctions-reduce-violence-against-police-and-nhs-staff/

Read the Transform Justice archive on insights related to neurodiversity here:

https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight-tag/neurodivergence/

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

This episode was recorded in October 2023.

Tens of thousands of people are released from prison each year in England and Wales - but many of them return to the outside world without safe and appropriate housing waiting for them. Some are forced into unsafe living situations, others become homeless, and some may even reoffend in order to return to the relative stability of prison.

In this eye-opening episode, hosts Rob and Penelope are joined by philanthropist and prison reformer Edwina Grosvenor and author, former prisoner and Own Merit co-founder Steve Gallant to discuss how and why the justice system is failing prison leavers. They explain how they are taking matters into their own hands by creating positive and supportive spaces for former prisoners to live in as they work to reintegrate into society. 

Edwina Grosvenor @EdwinaGrosvenor

Find out more about Edwina’s organisation One Small Thing here:

https://onesmallthing.org.uk/

And learn more about Hope Street here: 

https://onesmallthing.org.uk/hopestreet

Steve Gallant QGM @SteGallant

Find out more about Steve’s organisation Own Merit here: 

https://ownmerit.org/

Read Steve’s book The Road to London Bridge here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-road-to-london-bridge/steve-gallant/9781399604857 

Transform Justice

Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: [email protected]

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons. With thanks to Mountford Chambers for use of their space.