About

I worked at Sheffield Hallam University from September 2008 until March 2013 as a Principal Lecturer in Criminology. I was awarded a personal Chair in Applied Social Science in February 2010. Previously I worked at Bradford (2 years) and Sheffield (12 years) Universities. My work spans criminology, sociology, social policy and social work. Prior to entering academia, I was a probation officer for 12 years and then managed a therapy centre providing help to children and young people who had been sexually abused.
Since retirement I have been associated with two Universities in the South-West of England, the NRES Ethics committee in Exeter, Buckfast Abbey and MAPPA in Devon and Cornwall. I have also managed two oral history projects. I am a member of York Oral History Society and am currently (2024-2025) conducting an oral history of the Society.

 

Teaching

College of Social Sciences and Arts

Research

• Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice
• Social and Economic Research Institute

Since retiring in 2013, my research interests have shifted towards Oral History – this is outlined in the ‘Summary’ above.

Previously my research area was criminological, and I received the following grants:

2017: 'An oral history account of the operation of the Magistracy in North Devon in the closing years of the 20th century’.  Costs of transcribing 9 interviews. (jointly awarded with Professor Kim Stevenson). Research funding, School of Law, University of Plymouth.

2015: ‘Memorial to Women Raped in Conflict (Performance & Memorialisation Development group)’ - £936.80. Research Facilitation Grant, Faculty of Business, University of Plymouth. December 2015.

2012: ESRC: Research Grant - An Appreciative Inquiry into the response to diversity in three Yorkshire Prisons.  Award number: ES/K005049/1.
Co-investigator.  Principal Investigator Dr Victoria Lavis: University of Bradford; – funding (approximately £600K) for a 3yr project.  The grant has been awarded but owing to my early retirement, my involvement in the project was as a member of the Executive Steering Committee.

2010: Northern Rock Evaluation of ‘Melting Pot’ project HMP Frankland £7,000 – Project Consultant to Hallam Centre of Community Justice

2010: Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) Knowledge Exchange Small Grants. Opening up communicative space: towards a collaboratively generated impact in responding to Diversity in HMP Wakefield. Award number: RES-192-22-0047. Co-investigator; Principal Investigator Dr Victoria Lavis, University of Bradford. £3,876.00 https://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/Grants/RES-192-22-0047/read.

2009: Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC). Appreciative inquiry into the Diversity Strategy of HMP Wakefield. Award number RES-000-22-3441. Principal Investigator; (Co-investigator Dr Victoria Lavis, University of Bradford); £79,719.27. (March-November 2009) https://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/grants/RES-000-22-3441/read

Publications

Publications since 2013

Articles in refereed journals

2019: 'Local Justice needs local knowledge’: summary justice in North Devon 1975-2018. Oral History, Autumn 2019, 47 (2), 74-85

2015: Speaking about sexual abuse in the British South Asian community: offenders, victims and the challenges of shame and reintegration.  Journal of Sexual Aggression (with Gill, A. K. & Harrison, K.) 21, (1), 4-15. (published on line 01.07.2014) DOI 10.1080/13552600.2014.929188 

2013: Using a prisoner advisory group to develop diversity research in a maximum-security prison: a means of enhancing prisoner participation.  Groupwork 23 (3), 67-79 (on-line publication) with V. Lavis.

Book

2016: Social Work with Sex Offenders. Bristol; Policy Press (with Myers, S.).

Edited Books

2017: Research Ethics in Criminology and Criminal Justice– Politics, Dilemmas, Issues and Solutions (Co-edited with Loraine Gelsthorpe & Azrini Wahidin).  London; Routledge

    Chapters in edited collections

2013: Values in Criminology & Community Justice.  Bristol, Policy Press (co-edited with Duggan, M., Robinson, A. & Senior, P.)

2022: ‘The people between the Moors: community and continuity in a changing world’ (with Kelly, C. & McCormack, S.). In Winter, M., Wilkinson, T., Lobley, M., and Fish, R. The land between the moors: essays in culture, environment, and agricultural change. Exeter: Short Run Press Ltd

2021: ‘Ethics and Criminology and Criminal Justice: from conceptualising to conduct’ (with Wahidin, A.) in Barnes, J. C. and Forde, D. R. (eds) The Encyclopedia of Research Methods and Statistical Techniques in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Oxford: Wiley.

2017: ‘Exploring the response to diversity and equality in English prisons: an Appreciative Inquiry’ (with Lavis, V. and Elliott, C.) In Brooks, J. & King, N. Applied Qualitative Research in Psychology. London; Palgrave.

2017: ‘Introduction’ In Cowburn, M. Gelsthorpe, L. & Wahidin, A. Research Ethics in Criminology: Dilemmas, Issues and Solutions. London; Routledge (with Gelsthorpe, L. & Wahidin, A.)         

2017: ‘Researching sex crimes and sex offenders: some ethical and epistemological considerations’ In Cowburn, M. Gelsthorpe, L. & Wahidin, A. Research Ethics in Criminology: Dilemmas, Issues and Solutions. London; Routledge.

2017:‘Critical reflections: creating, curtailing and communicating academic freedoms’ In Cowburn, M. Gelsthorpe, L. & Wahidin, A. Research Ethics in Criminology: Dilemmas, Issues and Solutions. London; Routledge (with Gelsthorpe, L. & Wahidin, A.)

2016: ‘Values in probation with people who commit sex crimes’ In  P. Priestley & Vanstone, M. Probation and Politics: Academic Reflections from Former Practitioners. Basingstoke; Palgrave Macmillan

2015: ‘Sex offenders’ in Wright, J. D. (ed) International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (2^nd ed), Vol 21. Oxford; Elsevier Inc.  pp672-677 (with Myers, S.) ISBN 978-0-08-097087-5

2013: ‘Postmodernism and criminological thought: ‘whose science, whose knowledge?’ (with Liz Austen). In Cowburn, M., Duggan, M., Robinson, A. & Senior, P.  Values in Criminology & Community Justice. Bristol, Policy Press

2013:‘Working with different values: extremism, hate and sex crimes’  (with  Duggan, M. & Pollock, E.) In Cowburn, M., Duggan, M., Robinson, A. & Senior, P.  Values in Criminology & Community Justice.  Bristol, Policy Press

2013: ‘Introduction’. In Cowburn, M., Duggan, M., Robinson, A. & Senior, P.  Values in Criminology & Community Justice.  Bristol, Policy Press

2013: ‘Men researching violent men: epistemologies, ethics and emotions in qualitative research.’ In Pini, B. & Pease, B. Men, masculinities and methodologies. Basingstoke; Palgrave

Other publications and reports

2024: Sam Whitaker – Letter from New Zealand https://www.bradfordfhs.org.uk/members/sub-loadfile.php?z=art&x=1073 Accessed 1^st October 2024 (with John Cowburn)

2023: Postcards to the Whitakers (1903-1919) Bod-Kin Journal of the Bradford Family History Society, 15 (3), 6-14. (with John Cowburn)

2019: Beaford Hidden Histories: Oral History Project. Devon History News, No. 24 September 2019; 22-25. (with Emma Down)      

2019: Times remembered: photographs from the Beaford Archive, voices from North Devon. In Cardui, V. ‘HERE: uncovering north devon’. [Exhibition catalogue] Beaford; www.beaford.org

2017: A volunteer helper reflects on transference in working with a terminally ill man. Marie Curie Helper & Companion South West Region News and updates for volunteers; December 2017

2014: Dunkelfeld: Response to Professor Beier. NotaNews No. 72, March/April, pp 5-6. 

Other activities

2024 - ongoing:  Bradford Family History Society Committee Member

2022 - ongoing: York Oral History Society, Committee Member.                        

2021-2024: Oral History Society (UK): Member of the Board of Trustees

2019: Oral History Society (UK): Member of the Governance Sounding Board.

2014 -2017: Independent Chair – Safeguarding Commission Buckfast Abbey.

2014 - 2017: South-West - Exeter NRES Committee Health Research Authority (Alternate Vice-Chair).