The Transform Justice Podcast

“Doom loop” - a damning description of the prison capacity crisis, delivered by the Lord Chancellor himself. From deporting foreign prisoners, to making cells out of office space, it seems everything has been considered but nothing is working to bring our prison population under control.

In this episode, Penelope and Rob are joined by Enver Solomon, CEO of Nacro, and Cassia Rowland, Associate Director with the Institute for Government, to discuss how we got here and what we must do to escape the cycle. They cover early release schemes, the increase in recalls to prisons, and proposals to find more prisons spaces. Finally, they ask the question haunting all prison reformers: why is it so difficult to reduce the prison population once and for all?

Enver Soloman

Read Nacro's proposals for a more proportionate approach to prison recall here: https://www.nacro.org.uk/resource/a-proportionate-recall-system/

Cassia Rowland

Find the Institute for Government's work on prisons here: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/our-work/topics/public-services/criminal-justice

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Suspects can be held in police custody for up to 24 hours - and sometimes longer. During this time, they may be questioned by police. But what happens when someone in custody has a mental health condition or is neurodivergent? Is police custody capable of recognising potential vulnerabilities and responding appropriately?

Penelope and Rob are joined by Dr Roxanna Dehaghani of Cardiff University and Rhona Friedman of Commons Legal to explore the experience of police custody, how it can cause or exacerbate harm, and what needs to change to make the process fairer and safer for vulnerable people.

Dr Roxanna Dehaghani

Find out more about Roxanna's research here: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/fatemi-dehaghanir

Rhona Friedman

Learn more about Rhona's practice here: https://www.commons.legal/

Further resources

All-Party Parliamentary Group report on police custody: https://futurejustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/APPGMiscarriagesofJustice_RecalimingCustodyastheFirstLineofDefence.pdf

Panorama investigation into police custody: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002k7k6 

More information on the Baird inquiry into overuse of police custody: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight/the-baird-inquiry-into-overuse-of-police-custody/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Imagine spending longer in prison than you've been alive. For children handed a life sentence, this can be the reality.

Penelope and Rob are joined by Dr Susie Hulley, a research consultant who has led research into child life sentences, and Ryan, who was convicted to serve a minimum of 16 years aged 15, to discuss the experience of life sentences for children, policies supporting ever-longer minimum terms, and whether this extreme sentence is ever appropriate for children.

Further resources

Read Susie's work: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/default/files/u223/PSJ%20275%2C%20Child%20lifers.pdf

Hear from child lifers who took part in Susie's research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lGjITOJgxk

Learn more about JENGbA's campaign to abolish life sentences for children: https://www.thejusticegap.com/morally-indefensible-a-radical-new-campaign-aims-to-abolish-life-sentences-for-children/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Should ‘gut feeling’ be used to make decisions in drugs policing?

In this episode, Rob and Penelope are joined by Dr Bisi Akintoye, lecturer at the University of Roehampton, and Professor Alex Stevens, University of Sheffield, to discuss how we police drugs. They cover stop and search, different options for dealing with drugs offences, and the impact of over-policing on community relations.

Dr Bisi Akintoye

Read Bisi's work on racialised policing here: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/97098/

Dr Alex Stevens

Read about Alex's research into drugs diversion and reoffending here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/13/drug-diversion-schemes-reoffending-rates-police

Further resources

See more of Transform Justice's work on diversion here: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/focus-areas/resolving-crime-out-of-court/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

In England and Wales, children can be remanded to custody before they have been found guilty of any crime. But are too many children being locked up unnecessarily, and at what cost? In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Angus Jones, HMI Prisons Team Leader for Children and Young People, and Mel Stooks, solicitor, to examine the use of remand for children in the youth justice system.

They explore the impact even a short spell in custody has on children's lives, why so many remanded children are ultimately not given a custodial sentence, and why disorganisation across the various services involved so often means that a workable bail package isn't ready at a child's first court appearance, leaving a child in custody who need not be there.

Angus Jones

Read HMIP's report on children on short-term remand here: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/children-on-short-term-remand/

Mel Stooks

Learn about Mel's work here: https://gtstewart.co.uk/our-people/mel-stooks/

Further resources

See Transform Justice's work on pre-trial imprisonment here: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/focus-areas/pre-trial-imprisonment/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

In July 2024, a tragic attack in Southport claimed the lives of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar and irreparably harmed the local community.

Almost two years later, an inquiry has been published to try to understand what led Axel Rudakubana to commit these crimes.

In this episode, our hosts are joined by Professor Lynn Davies, ConnectFutures, and Selina Wallis, University of Liverpool, to discuss the many missed opportunities to prevent the attacks.

We cover how a teenager known to services could fall through the cracks, the changing landscape of extremism in the face of unfettered internet access, and much more.

Professor Lynn Davies

Emeritus Professor of International Education at the University of Birmingham, and Director of social enterprise ConnectFutures.

See Lynn’s University of Birmingham profile: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/education/davies-lynn

Read the Manchester Arena Inquiry, for which Lynn acted as an Expert Witness: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/manchester-arena-inquiry-reports

Selina Wallis

Public involvement and co-production lead in applied health research at the University of Liverpool, including work connected to NIHR ARC North West Coast.

See Selina’s University of Liverpool profile: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/selina-wallis

Read the Safe by Default Substack: https://saferbydefault.substack.com/p/after-prevent-after-southport

Read about the Preventing Mixed Forms of Extremism project: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/sociology-social-policy-and-criminology/research/research-projects/preventing-mixed-forms-of-extremism/

Further resources

• Read the Southport Inquiry: Phase 1 report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-southport-inquiry-phase-1-report

• ‘Known to services’ or ‘Known by professionals’: Relationality at the core of trauma-informed responses to extra-familial harm: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740924001671
  

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Are court staff welcoming? Can defendants participate effectively? How is anyone supposed to follow legal jargon?

We're back with more insights from our volunteer courtwatchers! In the latest wave of observation, volunteers recorded reflections on more than 2,000 cases and the findings are out now.

Rob and Penelope are joined by courtwatcher Rosemin Najmudin and Jessica Jacobson, Professor of criminal justice at Birkbeck, University of London to discuss effective participation, intimidating attitudes from some court staff, perceived racial bias in the courtroom, and much more.

Rosemin Najmudin

Learn more about courtwatching: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/focus-areas/courtwatch-london/

Jessica Jacobson

Find out more about Jessica's work on procedural justice: https://clinks.org/publication/procedural-justice-courts

Further resources

Read our courtwatchers' latest findings:

• Due dignity: how are defendants treated in London magistrates' courts? https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/publication/due-dignity-how-are-defendants-treated-in-london-magistrates-courts/
• Beyond reasonable delay : efficiency in London magistrates' courts https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/publication/beyond-reasonable-delay-efficiency-in-london-magistrates-courts-2/

Sign up to courtwatch across England and Wales: https://transformjustice.eo.page/courtwatchlondon

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

When someone commits a sexual offence, the punishment often extends far beyond the sentence—shaping their lives, and the lives of those around them, for years to come. In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Eppie Sprung, Chief Executive of Next Chapter Scotland, and Belinda Winder, Professor of Forensic Psychology at Nottingham Trent University.

Together they explore why sexual offences are treated as a category apart, the evidence behind interventions such as chemical castration, and the impact of stigma by association. Finally, they tackle a difficult question: is ostracising people who’ve committed sexual offences from society really the best way to ensure it doesn’t happen again?

Eppie Sprung

Find out more about Next Chapter Scotland here: https://www.nextchapterscotland.org.uk/

Belinda Winder

Belinda is a trustee of Unlock, and co-founder of the Safer Living Foundation. Find Belinda's research here: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/social-sciences/belinda-winder 

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Restorative justice is one of the most powerful - and least understood - parts of the justice system. Proven to satisfy victims and slash reoffending, it’s justice that’s shaped around the needs of those involved, creating space for accountability, repair, and understanding. Sounds ideal…so why is it so underutilised?

In this episode we unpack restorative justice - what it is, how it works, and why it can be so hard to access. Joining us are Paul Kohler, Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon and a victim of violent crime who pursued restorative justice in search of answers, and Lucy Jaffe, a justice consultant and leading restorative justice advocate. We discuss what restorative justice looks like in practice, why so few people know about it, and policy proposals aiming to expand access.

Paul Kohler MP @PaulKohlerSW19

MP and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Northern Ireland).

Read more about Paul’s parliamentary advocacy for restorative justice: https://www.paulkohler.uk/news/article/paul-kohler-mp-pushes-prime-minister-to-invest-in-restorative-justice 

And see his amendment to the Victims and Courts bill (in conjunction with Why me? and Calm Mediation) here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3968/stages/20032/amendments/10027822

Lucy Jaffe

Former director of Why me?, current board member of the European Forum of Restorative Justice and restorative practitioner.

Read Lucy’s article about how campaigners are shaping restorative justice policy here: https://www.euforumrj.org/putting-restorative-justice-centre-stage-how-uk-campaigners-are-shaping-policy

Further Resources

Find out how to access restorative justice services here: https://why-me.org/our-work/do-you-want-restorative-justice/ 

Read more about the restorative justice amendment submitted to the Victims and Courts Bill: https://why-me.org/2025/restorative-justice-amendment-tabled-in-the-house-of-commons/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

2025 was a busy year in justice policy. In this episode, Penelope and Rob reflect on the reforms, debates and missed opportunities that shaped the past year then look ahead to how current policy work and political priorities are likely to influence the justice landscape in 2026. We talk prisons, courts, criminal records and more.

Further Resources

Read David Gauke's Independent Sentencing Review, part 1: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c583a868a61757838d2196/independent-sentencing-review-part-1-report.pdf

Read David Gauke's Independent Sentencing Review, part 2: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/682d8d995ba51be7c0f45371/independent-sentencing-review-report-part_2.pdf

Read the Leveson Independent Review of the Criminal Courts: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/686be85d81dd8f70f5de3c1f/35.49_MOJ_Ind_Review_Criminal_Courts_v8b_FINAL_WEB.pdf

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠

⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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