Rebecca is a post-doc research fellow in School of Sociology and Social Policy, currently working on a UKRI funded prison regulation study where she is specifically looking at:
i) harms of prisoner suicide and death investigations on prison stakeholders (including death investigators) – this research has determined that there are a number of harms including primary and vicarious trauma, complicated grief, feelings of helplness and powerlessness, fear, that result in staff being unable to do their job, burn-out and unsafe prisons.
II) prison complaints processes as mechanisms for prisoner participation - are prison complaints processes, in practice, participatory, inclusive and fair? There are myriad barriers that prevent prisoners from complaining and what they complain about. Yet complaints processes hold clear potential to enhance prison legitimacy, facilitate prisoner engagement and agency which can reduce levels of prison violence and self-harm. Prisoners who feel they have not had their complaints dealt with fairly or not heard are more likely to self-harm.
Her Phd ‘Restorative Justice: understanding the enablers and barriers to victim participation in England and Wales’ determined the cultures, mechanisms and approached adopted by criminal justice professionals to deliver and offer restorative justice to victims and how this affected victim participation.
Victims have a ‘right’ under the Victims’ Code of Practice to be given information on how they can access and participate in restorative justice yet less than 6% of victims can recall being offered restorative justice. Restorative justice can provide victims with answers, reduce levels of trauma, to move forward, to be empowered and have agency. The study also examined victims' experiences of restorative justice and found that victims appreciate being given information on, and the opportunity to participate in some form of restorative justice. Criminal justice professionals routinely excluded non-ideal victims and made decisions on behalf of victims and offenders.
Rebecca is open to external consultantcy and research collaboration opportunities.
Read more about Rebecca on her staff profile.