2016

CONFERENCE
NORTHUMBRIA
University

7 APRIL

#necrime2016

North East Crime Research Network Conference

Thursday 7th April 2016
A warm welcome from the North East Crime Research Network
and the Centre for Crime and Justice
The North East Crime Research Network are a network of criminology and
criminal law postgraduate students, early career researchers, academics,
and practitioners from across the region (and beyond!). Our aim is to
provide a friendly and supportive network for discussion and the sharing
of ideas.
For more information see our website:
http://northeastcrimeresearchnetwork.weebly.com/

The Centre for Crime and Justice at Northumbria University - researching

the nature, context, space and dynamics of crime, criminal justice and social
exclusion.
http://collab.northumbria.ac.uk/coo/

Business School, Northumbria University

MORNING
8.45 9.15 Registration
9.15 9.30 Welcome
9.30 10.15

Keynote Speaker: Dorothy Newbury-Birch,

Professor of Alcohol and Public Health Research, Health
and Social Care Institute, Teesside University

Climbing down the steps from the ivory tower:

how academics and practitioners need to work together to get the best
from research studies in the criminal justice system

10.20 11.35

Session 1

11.40 12.55

Session 2

12.55 13.40 Lunch

Most Inspiring PhD paper -on the day of the conference you will be able to
place a vote for the most inspiring PhD paper. The winner will receive 100
book voucher, courtesy of SAGE publications.

AFTERNOON
13.40 14.55

Session 3

14.55 15.30 Break

Please visit www.socrative.com and enter room NECRIME2016 to place

your vote.

15.30 16.50

Session 4

16.50 17.15

Conference Close and PGR Paper Prize Announcement

EVENING

If you are on twitter dont forget to use the hashtag #NECRIME2016, our
student volunteers will be live tweeting throughout the conference so you
can follow the main points from all of the sessions.

17.30

Drinks followed by informal conference dinner at 18.30

at the Tyneside Cinema, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle City Centre

https://www.tynesidecinema.co.uk/food-drink/tyneside-bar-cafe

Session 1 -

Starts: 10.20 Ends: 11.35

Panel 1 - room no. 024

Rights and Legislation Panel Chair Mike Rowe, Northumbria University
Name: Sumeet Jalgaonkar ,
University of Dundee
Title: Criminal Incitement And Permissible

Freedom of Speech: A critical analysis

of Racial and Religious Hate Crimes in

the UK
Abstract: This paper focuses on the
legislative treatment meted out to incitement
of racial and religious hate crimes in the
United Kingdom. Historically, the legal position
relating to inciting religious hatred in the UK
differs in detail between the four nations
which form the Union. Due to the societys
changing attitude towards race and religion
since the past few years, it has become
imperative to look at these social issues with
a wider outlook in order to bring social
cohesion among different faith communities.
Also the dividing line between criminal
incitement and permissible freedom of
expression has not yet been pronounced on
by any UK court which brings legal uncertainty
to these hate crime legislations. In particular,
all the four nations have their respective hate
crime legislation for incitement of racial and
religious hate crimes due the problem of
conflicting racial and religious experiences.
This paper critically examines the narrow
gaps between criminal incitement and
permissible freedom of expression in relation
to incitement of racial and religious hate
crimes in the UK in the spirit of Article 10.2
of the European Convention.

Name: Yewa S. Holiday, Queen Mary,

University of London
Title: Refugees and the misuse of the

criminal law
Abstract: The paper will consider offences
committed by refugees relating to their
flight from persecution (such as using and
possessing false passports or failing to
produce passports) in the context of
article 31(1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The offences used to prosecute refugees
comprise both immigration offences and
criminal law offences. This paper considers
the use of the criminal law in criminalising
refugees (via both immigration and criminal
law offences) and concludes that it is a
misuse of the criminal law as the prosecutions
do not conform to principles of criminalisation
but rather focus on the offender as being a
certain type of person. This paper focuses
on Spenas ideas relating to Tterstrafrecht
and relates these ideas to the criminalisation
of refugees. Tterstrafrecht has been
described by Spena as being a criminal law
ideal type according to which criminalisation
should have types of offenders (Ttertypen),
rather than types of offences (Tttypen), as
its intentional objects, so that punishment is
inflicted on people because of who they are
or because they fit a Ttertyp, the readymade (either criminological or legal) image
of a certain type of person. Refugees and
asylum seekers appear to be prosecuted
precisely because they are perceived to
conform to a stereotypical image. The actual
refugee background which should result in no
prosecution or, at the least, enable a defence
to be run is often ignored. Protections
apparently afforded to refugees under
domestic law, to reflect the protection under
article 31(1) RC, are therefore more illusory
than real.

Name: Faris Al-Anaibi, Durham University,

Durham Law School
Title: The Right to Protection in the Iraqi

Legal System
Abstract: Indiscriminate violence by non-state
actors has been widespread in Iraq, especially
following the controversial occupation of the
country in 2003 by the United States and its
allies, which has left hundreds of thousands
Iraqi citizens dead or injured. This is especially
so after some parts of Iraqi territory have
recently come under the control of the socalled ISIS. Citizens of Iraq have a legitimate
expectation that the Iraqi state should fulfil
its philosophical/moral and international legal
obligation to protect their right to life. To this
end, this paper aims to examine the extent
to which the above obligation is fulfilled both
in theory and practice by the Iraqi authorities
and their legal system.
It is argued that the huge number of victims
of violent acts because of the incompetence
and corruption of the Iraqi state authorities,
and the gross neglect of protection of
the right to life of their citizens in standing
by while such violent acts took place
demonstrates the failure of these authorities
to adequately prevent violent acts. It follows
that the Iraqi state is morally and legally
bound by its citizens expectations that their
sense of protection must be restored. This
is to say that the duty of the Iraqi state to
provide adequate security and protection
to its citizens is both morally and legally
justified. Should Iraq neglect to uphold such
expectations, the moral and legal legitimacy
of the states authority over its citizens would
be questionable.

Session 1 -

Starts: 10.20 Ends: 11.35

Panel 2 - room no. 009

Youth Justice Panel Chair Kelly Stockdale, Northumbria University
Name: Roger Smith, Durham University

Name: Anne-Marie Day, University of Salford

Name: Patricia Gray, Plymouth University

Title: Pathways into offending for children in

care: early findings

Title: The Changing Shape of Youth Justice:

A Typology?
Abstract: This paper develops some thoughts
about the possible emergence of a number
of distinctive approaches to the delivery of
youth justice services, possibly associated
with the easing of previously tight centralised
control of organisation and practice.
As patterns of disposal have changed,
along with enforced service reductions and
reorganisation, youth offending services
have been required to reconsider and
reorganise. Undertaking an initial review of
youth offending strategy documents and
inspection reports, we have tentatively
identified a threefold typology of youth
service delivery arrangements, depicted as
variously: procedural, targeted interventions
and children first.
This initial documentary analysis will be
supplemented by a series of field visits to
youth offending services to carry out a
more detailed interview-based assessment
of whether they practice and ideas that lie
behind it do actually reflect this range of quite
distinctive approaches to intervention. Should
we find indications that our initial hypothesis
carries weight, we would also expect to find
discernible differences in priorities, practices,
structural arrangements and relationships
with communities and agency partners.
Whether these differences in approach will
also be associated with differing impacts and
outcomes for young people, families and the
wider community is also a pertinent question,
and we also aim to develop some suggestions
about how to go about identifying evidence of
any such effects.

Abstract: The disproportionate

representation of children in care in the youth
justice system remains a significant challenge
to academics and policy makers, yet there
is an absence of research and literature
concerning the relationship between care
experiences and the onset of offending
behaviour. This is one of the first studies to
focus on the perceptions of young people
whilst they are still in care and subject to
local authority care. The research is gathering
young peoples first hand experiences
and perceptions of their pathways into
offending, which will then be compared with
the narratives in the main assessment tool
used by Youth Offending Practitioners. I am
currently nearing the end of my fieldwork,
which involves face to face in depth interviews
with 20 looked after children attending
various Youth Offending Teams in the Greater
Manchester and Cheshire areas. An analysis
of practitioners narratives on the same
group of looked after children in their youth
justice risk assessments will offer insight into
the views of the practitioners who manage
the looked after children. This paper will be
presenting early findings, which currently point
towards a broader set of issues in the care
system than is currently presented in the
public discourse. The research is extremely
timely given the interest in this area and the
paper will present implications for policy and
practice.

Name: Hannah Wishart

Manchester University
Title: Neuroscience in Youth Justice:

My Brain Made Me Do It, Its not my

fault, So What?
Abstract: Neuroscientific effort[s] to map
cognitive development is described as
one of the most important examinations
of the young brain by legal theorists since
the welfare movement. We now know
how developmental growth implicates the
adolescents ability to exercise mental
capacities. Yet the law still treats adolescents
the same as adults because it is assumed
they possess a normal degree of mental
capacity. For it defended perfectly
acceptable to hold young adolescents
(between 10 and 14 years) responsible for
criminal wrongdoing. As a consequence,
this paper will examine the reasonableness
of incorporating neuroscience into legal
proceedings. However, it must be noted here,
neuroscience can just as easily promote
ones taking of responsibility for action as it
can negate responsibility. One point of view
may claim that it is indeed problematical,
for adolescents lack the internalistic
control over the developmental process.
Therefore should we perceive the absence
of developmental control to be an extension
of automatism? What (if anything) should
we summarise about this information? How
does the law respond to it? Can we say
that this information is in fact pertinent to
determinations of responsibility?
This paper will seek to answer the above
questions in order to understand whether
the law should and can feasibly use
neuroscientific information when determining
legal responsibility of adolescent offenders.

Session 1 -

Starts: 10.20 Ends: 11.35

Panel 3 - room no. 007

Sexual offences, domestic abuse, and gendered violence Panel Chair Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Hye-in, Chung, University of Leeds

Name: Stephen Burrell, Durham University

Title: Emergence of sexual offence issues

in South Korea and its impacts on sexual

offence legislation

Title: Domestic violence policy discourses and

the invisibility of mens practices

Abstract: In general, each society has

different social and cultural norms of
regulating sexual offences based on its
religious, cultural and social background.
Forms of socially and legally accepted sexual
behaviours also change over time.
In case of South Korea, 1980s was the first
time when sexual offences have begun to
be acknowledged as a part of the domestic
violence issue. Previously, it did not get a
proper attention, due to a generally accepted
social perspective that domestic problem
should be taken care of within the boundary
of the individual family. However, the rise
of the feminist movement and a growing
focus on victimology contributed to a better
recognition of the seriousness of sexual
offence issues in Korean society. As a result,
a wide range of legislative transitions in
sexual offence legislation, and various criminal
sanctions on sexual offences have been
implemented in recent years. In Korea, the
gender issue is considered as one of the most
significant factors in studying the rationale
behind the Korean criminal justice system,
since it has long been heavily influenced
by a patriarchal mode of thinking, and by
Confucianism.
Based on these changes in social perspective
on sexual offence issues, this study aims to
provide the overview of recent changes in
sexual offence legislation to explore how the
law has responded to this change. In addition,
it intends to identify further issues to be
addressed for the future reform.

Abstract: This paper is connected to a wider

doctoral research project around the primary
prevention of domestic violence. The vast
majority of domestic violence is perpetrated
by men, yet this is something which is
rarely recognised in policy or scrutinised in
criminology beyond feminist scholarship.
Indeed, a fundamental contradiction of these
fields is that despite womens experiences
being marginalised and men so often being
the default and at the centre of attention
in criminal justice policy and criminology,
men are rarely actually named as men,
and the gendered nature of their practices
and their gendered position in society
remain largely invisible, including in relation
to violence against women and girls. This
paper is based around a discourse analysis
of recent British and Finnish government
policy documents, which demonstrated how,
despite discursive shifts in recent years, this
invisibilising continues to serve to conceal
mens responsibility for violence against
women and place the onus on women and
victim-survivors for crimes such as domestic
violence. The paper therefore argues that in
order to prevent domestic violence and other
forms of mens violence against women and
girls, we must shift our critical focus on men
and masculinities, and the different ways in
which mens practices function to maintain
patriarchal power relations. Furthermore,
placing the spotlight on and making visible
mens power and its maintenance is a crucial
task for criminology and is vital for furthering
our understanding of mens violences.

Name: DCI Deborah Alderson,

Northumbria Police
Title: Policing the most harmful and serial

domestic abuse perpetrators:

Northumbria Polices innovative use

of multi agency tasking and coordination

processes (MATAC)
Abstract: Safeguarding domestic abuse
victims and protecting families from domestic
abuse and violence are absolute priorities of
Northumbria Police. We have taken the step
of focussing on the most harmful and serial
perpetrators of domestic abuse by utilising
a domestic abuse toolkit in a multi-agency
environment to work together to stop their
harmful behaviour.
We first identify those most harmful and
serial perpetrators by looking at how
recently they have offended, the frequency
of their offending and the gravity of their
offending. We then work together with key
partners, pooling our resources in a MultiAgency Tasking and Coordination (MATAC)
process and create individual plans for each
perpetrator designed to protect victims and
families and prevent re-offending.
Tactical options for use within the MATAC
process include our commissioning of
voluntary domestic abuse perpetrator
programmes across the whole Northumbria
Policing area, working very closely with housing
providers and also use of Domestic Abuse
Proximity Devices (GPS tagging units).

The presentation will provide more detail of

each of these steps in the process:
Identification of the most harmful and
serial perpetrators
MATAC process
Domestic abuse toolkit
Voluntary domestic abuse perpetrator
programmes
Domestic Abuse proximity devices
Work with housing providers
Click here for further information on the
MATAC scheme.

Session 1 -

Starts: 10.20 Ends: 11.35

Panel 4 - room no. 012

Organised Crime Groups Panel Chair Rob Hornsby, Northumbria University
Name: Dr Xavier LHoiry
University of Sheffield
Name: Nikki DSouza, Durham Constabulary
Title: Restorative Justice and Organised

Crime Groups
Abstract: The paper presents emerging
findings from an N8 Police Research
Partnership scheme intended to bring
together academic researchers with
practitioners. This research explores the
possibility of synthesizing restorative
approaches with attempts to combat
organised crime. While any possibility of linking
these two strands may appear counterintuitive at first sight, an embryonic body of
research has begun to explore this possibility
and this project seeks to build on such
research.
This research seeks to explore a number
of broad questions. Is it possible to apply
restorative justice practices to an organised
crime context? Are offenders in this context
willing to take part in restorative justice
practices? If so, which types of offenders in
particular may be most willing and suitable?
Are victims of organised crime willing to
partake in restorative justice alongside these
types of offenders? What are the most
suitable restorative approaches for this
nuanced type of crime?
The research will attempt to start answering
these questions in a number of ways. Firstly,
it will bring together and critically analyse
emerging literature which seeks to bring
together restorative approaches and efforts
to fight organised criminality. Secondly, the
project will conduct a series of interviews
with stakeholders in the wider context of the
project namely victims of organised crime
activities; offenders undertaking organised
criminality; and expert practitioners engaged
in restorative practices. In doing so, the
research seeks to build a body of knowledge
to begin answering the questions above with

a view to establishing what future questions

may be posed in this area of study.
Name: Tony Lock
Title: What do we do when Mafias succeed?

How the spread of Business Model

Crime from London to the North East

can be prevented.
Abstract: This research is significant because
it combines analyses of the social impacts
and technical operations of a new generation
of criminal syndicates in UK imported
from the United States. The syndicates
are designed as business models and are
driven by information and communications
technologies.
A mixed methods research approach
captures how seventy transnational criminal
groups have been absorbed across a
common technical platform using data
warehouses, mobile phone communications
technologies and GPS tracking of coded car
registration numbers. The technical platform
supports real time drugs distribution,
intimidation and residential property
extortion. Primary data obtained through
the observation of a current Syndicate uses
triangulation to verify the operation of the
business model in two UK locations; central
London and a Chiltern town.
Legal and social strategies for the
prevention of the continuity and spread
of this phenomenon to the North-east
are informed by a systematic study of
motives, opportunities and means of the
new, transplanted perpetrators. A specific
emphasis is placed on their impact upon
white collar crime in local communities.
Specialist RICO-style legislation based upon
the misuse of technology is discussed in
light of this new strand of transnational
organised crime.

Name: Rob Hornsby, Faculty of Arts, Design

and Social Sciences, Northumbria University
Title: The Criminal Entrepreneur: a case study

of an organised criminal family
Abstract: This study considers the rise of
a criminal family in a City in the North of
England, juxtaposing their changing activity
against the economic cycle over the period
from the early 1980s to date. This case study
shows the adaptability of our entrepreneurial
family that has its roots in violence but most
recently has been able to create a legitimate
veneer to their business enterprises. As
with legitimate businesses, adaptation has
taken place in response to developments in
communications and payments mechanisms
within the economy. The analysis helps us
to form a picture of the extent to which
the activity of this family follows a predetermined pattern and conforms to the
concept of organised crime embedded
within the wider echelons of political economy
exchanges.

Session 2 -

Starts: 11.40 Ends: 12.55

Panel 1 - room no. 024

Violence, trauma, loss, and offending behaviour Panel Chair Ian Cook, Northumbria University
Name: Alexandria Bradley,
Northumbria University
Title: Trauma-Informed Practice in Prisons:

Achievable or Unrealistic?
Abstract: This paper aims to consider the
potential of trauma-informed practice
and care in the context of UK prisons. In
September 2015, Dr Stephanie Covington
pioneered trauma-informed care; this
concept was transferred from prisons in the
USA and it was applied to UK institutions.
Currently, the UK prison population has
multi-faceted complexities which are largely
unrecognised and misinterpreted. On the
front line of service, prison officers deliver
24 hour support to prisoners, 365 days
a year. Drawing on findings from a critical
literature review, this discussion will analyse
the prospective impacts and potential
obstacles for both prison officers and
prisoners, associated with trauma-informed
practice. Whilst acknowledging the larger
implications of trauma-informed practice in
UK prison systems, the aim is to demonstrate
the requirement for a more holistic way of
working within prisons, with prisoners who
have had previous traumatic experiences.

Name: Felicity Shenton,

Investing in Children CIC
Title: A rights based approach to researching

the use of physical restraint in childrens

custody
Abstract: Custody for children is inherently
unsafe, with evidence of harmful and unsafe
care. Thirty three children have died in
custody in England and Wales in the past
decade. I will argue that the way children are
treated once incarcerated reflects the way
that children, childhood and child offenders
are conceptualised, perceived and controlled.
The routine use of physical restraint as a
response to challenging behaviour has been
called into question. It has been declared
at the very least controversial, unsafe and
in some cases unlawful. Taking a childrens
human rights approach I will present a piece
of participatory research, which explored the
use of physical restraint across the secure
estate in England, from the perspective
of children themselves. Children (11-18ys)
took part, some as researchers themselves
and others as participants. Spaces were
created which encouraged the authentic and
distinctive voice of children, which lay at the
heart of the study. Their contemporaneous
experience makes this research unique.
Evidence will be provided which demonstrates
that, although distressing and often painful,
in most cases children consider its use to
be inevitable and justifiable. These daily
acts of violence inflicted on children were
not considered unusual given childrens
experiences of everyday violence within their
families, communities and other institutions.
Children are unaware of their right not to
be subjected to inhumane and degrading
treatment. The research suggests that
the existence of a rights framework within
the secure estate is negligible and makes
some suggestions about how this might be
addressed.

Name: Vicky Meaby, Durham University

Title: Nothing to lose? Using ethno-mimesis to

explore issues of loss with young people

who offend.
Abstract: Links between young peoples
offending behaviour and adverse life
situations have been widely researched
within criminology, but investigation into the
relationship between their experiences of loss
and offending behaviour is limited (Murray,
2011). Little is known about the impact of loss
upon offending behaviours, or how children
who offend feel, think or respond to loss.
Where loss is addressed within academic
research, focus tends to fall upon issues
of bereavement or attachment, with little
consideration given to deeper narratives of
loss, in contexts such as space, place and
identity. Ethno-mimesis (Cantwell, 1993;
ONeill 2002) can be broadly described as a
fusion of ethnography and arts based work.
It is a methodology which enables meaningful
ethnographic immersion in relation to culture,
identity and structure in order to explore and
re-present (via art) the complexity of lived
relations in contemporary society (ONeill,
2002:69). The Criminal Justice System
is no stranger to arts based intervention,
especially at the more intense end of the
spectrum, providing voice and opportunity for
marginalised groups.
The aim of this research is to connect
sociological analysis and criminological study;
using ethno-mimesis to gain new insight
into young peoples own experiences of loss
and exploring impacts of loss in relation
to offending behaviours in creative and
innovative ways. The knowledge gained will
help aid understanding of the prevalence
and impact of loss in the lives of young
people who offend, informing policy and
practice within youth justice.

Session 2 -

Starts: 11.40 Ends: 12.55

Panel 2 - room no. 009

Alcohol Panel Chair Kelly Stockdale, Northumbria University
Name: Iheoma Amaeshi, School of Applied
Social Sciences, Durham University
Title: UK Alcohol industrys framing on Alcohol

Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP): An analysis

of Consultation Submissions
Abstract: Alcohol consumption has become
part of the culture of many societies including
the United Kingdom. Alcohol industry actors
argue that the majority of their customers
enjoy their products responsibly with cases
of misuse occurring only in a minority group.
Framing the risks associated with their
product in this manner may suggest that
moderate consumption of alcohol is without
consequences. It has been found that such
framings are often carried over to the policy
arena to influence policies targeted at alcohol
companies and products. The policy making
process is complex and involves a lot of
language-mediated-interactions between
policy actors. These complex interactions are
however under-investigated in the extant
literature. This proposed study problematises
frames as a strategic corporate tool. The
focus on frames is not arbitrary. Frames
are used by social actors to define and then
problematize their chosen issue(s) in order to
achieve their political goals. Frames can be
utilised intentionally to promote a positive or
negative image; persuade or be deliberately
obtuse. To examine the use of frames, this
study will focus on the Alcohol MUP Scotland
Bill. The study seeks to understand the role of
language in the policy process by identifying
the types of frames and framing devices
used by alcohol industry actors. Empirical
data were derived from consultation
responses submitted by the alcohol industry.
Framing theory, as proposed by Robert
Entman and Van Gorps framing analysis
methods, was used to help make sense of
the data generated. Preliminary analysis
of submissions shows cleavages amongst
alcohol industry actors. Four sets of frames
were identified and this includes: stakeholder
and unintended consequences frames.

These frames though present in all the

documents, did not all conform to Entmans
definition of a frame. It is anticipated that
this study will make a theoretical and
methodological contribution to the field of
alcohol studies and possible improvements
to alcohol related policymaking from a social
policy perspective.
Name: Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch
& Jennifer Birch, Health and Social Care
Institute, Teesside University
Title: What do we know about alcohol use

disorders and brief interventions in the

criminal justice system?: A rapid

systematic review
Background: Although complex, there
is evidence of an association between
alcohol use and offending behavior. It has
been suggested that providing effective
treatment is likely to significantly reduce the
costs relating to alcohol as well as increase
individual social welfare. Methods: A rapid
systematic review of alcohol use prevalence
in the various stages of the criminal justice
system in the UK. Furthermore, we carried
out a review of effectiveness studies of
interventions for alcohol brief interventions
in the criminal justice setting. Worldwide
evidence was included that consisted of up to
three hours of face-to-face brief intervention
either in one session or numerous sessions.
Results Between 64-88 per cent of adults
in the police custody setting; 95 per cent in
the magistrate court setting; 53-69 per cent
in the probation setting and 5,913-863 per
cent in the prison system and 64 per cent of
young people in the criminal justice system
in the UK scored positive for an alcohol use
disorder. There is very little evidence of
effectiveness of brief interventions in the
various stages of the criminal justice system
mainly due to the lack of follow-up data.
Discussion: Alcohol use disorders are high at
all stages in the criminal justice system.

At present, there is little evidence of effect

upon drinking levels for brief interventions in
criminal justice settings. Whilst the approach
shows promise with some effects being
shown on alcohol-related harm, more robust
research is needed to ascertain effectiveness
in this setting.

by underage drinkers. It allows the treatment

service to identify those with complex needs
who are not currently known to services.

Name: Mick Urwin, Durham Constabulary

Title: Countering the care or control conflict

with peer-led research in Changing Lives

Title: Tackling underage drinking

a partnership approach
Abstract: The North East of England
suffers from the highest rates of 11-15
year olds drinking alcohol. Despite those
numbers decreasing, those that do drink are
drinking too much and too often. Durham
Constabulary and partners wanted to ensure
that young people were being identified
and referred for brief intervention work in a
timely and effective fashion to both reduce
Anti-Social Behaviour and tackle Child Sexual
Exploitation. A partnership procedure was
developed in between Police, Local Authority
and treatment services to streamline the
way alcohol seizures from young people
were dealt with, ensuring pathways between
seizure and intervention were seamless. A
single point of contact was created for alcohol
seizures for all agencies involved. Which
is collated, recorded and disseminated to
relevant partners and a stepped process is
employed where numerous seizures from
an individual occur. Since the introduction of
the procedure 5,300 under 18s have had
alcohol seized from them within the Durham
Constabulary area. All referred for brief
intervention. In addition, adults found with
young people were recorded, providing
intelligence in relation to CSE; some dealt with
for supplying alcohol to minors. The data is
used to target awareness within education
settings. In 2012 the UK Home Office
recognised the procedure as national
good practice; the procedure is effective in
ensuring timely referrals and as one of the
tools in tackling anti-social behaviour caused

Name: Mark Joyce & Jo Cairns

Postdoctoral Research Associate in the
Department of Geography, Durham University

Abstract: Staff and volunteers, from the

charity Changing Lives, are working with
a small group of residents from one of
the Charitys accommodation services to
increase their awareness of, and ability to
carry out, research. The aim is to support
this group of residents to carry out a piece
of participatory research focusing on the
impact of the Charitys approach to alcohol in
relation to the service. The service provides
accommodation and support for 49 men who
have experienced homelessness and have
complex and multiple needs. The residents
Licence Agreement prohibits the use or
storing of alcohol on the premises; however,
a significant minority of the residents are
alcohol dependant or use alcohol as part of
a coping strategy. Managing and enforcing
this element of the Licence Agreement
can lead to a care or control conflict, may
undermine the rapport required to effectively
work collaboratively to develop effective
support plan, and may also result in residents
being asked to leave their accommodation
where persistent breaches of the Licence
Agreement occur.The aim of the participatory
research is to enable residents to share their
experiences, thoughts and feelings freely
with their peers and to contribute to the
understanding of staff and decision makers
within the service to influence positive change.

Session 2 -

Starts: 11.40 Ends: 12.55

Panel 3 - room no. 007

Researching
Sexual offences,
Criminological
domestic abuse,
Issues Panel
and gendered
Chair Robviolence
Hornsby,
Panel
Northumbria
Chair Charlotte
University
Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Frank J Simpson, University of
Cumbria
Title: Research in the Police: Being Native;

Informed Researcher or Jobbing

ethnographer?
Abstract: In the wake of the 2007 financial
crisis, and its ongoing reverberations, the UK
politics scene has been seized by an austerity
drive in which political elites have succeeded
in presenting the failures of the private
finance industry and the consequences of
huge amounts of unpaid consumer debt as
the fault of excessive government spending in
the decade prior to the downturn.
An ethnographic study was commenced into
the culture of the police service at the time
of unprecedented change. The researcher
was a serving officer at the time, and sought
gain the thick descriptive (Geertz 1973). In
this context, the ethnographic research with
officers serving in England, indicates that
some of this wider socio-cultural malaise may
be starting to work its way into core public
services, such as the police, which might
have been sheltered from the full force of
modernisation as a general result of their
vital functions. The reasons for choosing to
undertake research within a familiar setting
can be quite diverse. The insider researcher
is often able to perceive a holistic view rather
than a narrow perspective and can have the
skills to make an assessment about what is
practicable and realistic to the study, with
consideration of the resources and time
required (Fuller & Petch, 1995). The purpose
of this paper is to explore the issues of being
an insider researcher within a police setting,
and questions whether the insider researcher
is, indeed, an informed researcher or jobbing
ethnographer.

Name: David Honeywell, University of York

Title: Ex-prisoners in higher education:

A study of the self; identity and

negotiation through higher education.
Abstract: Although there are many studies
and current debates about prison education
there still remains a dearth of research
and discussion about ex-prisoners pursuing
higher education courses despite there
being evidence to suggest this is a growing
trend. This paper will present my latest
research findings taken from 24 face-toface semi-structured interviews examining
the experiences of ex-prisoners who are
studying for degrees, have graduated, and
in some cases even gained successful senior
positions in academe. Participants were
asked to talk about their life experiences
including their childhoods, offending, prison
and the reasons behind why they chose
to enter higher education. It examines the
impact higher education had on their identity
transformation, but in particular, how it
has helped them re-evaluate their sense
of self. This paper will also share some of
the unexpected changes and findings that
emerged such as the increasing amount
of female ex-prisoners who volunteered
to share their personal life stories. This
gave the study a new dimension by giving
gender comparisons and how some of the
participants felt education was more of a
curse than a positive experience.

Name: Jill Clark & Karen Laing,

Research Centre for Learning and Teaching,
Newcastle University
Title: Working with young people around

crime and anti-social behaviour:

exploring the capacity for change in their

communities
Abstract: Whilst co-production is rapidly
becoming an organising principle in the design
of public services with adults (e.g., health,
criminal justice, social care and education)
it often receives lip service when applied
to young people. Young people are often
represented as objects of adult concern,
works in progress, or naturally unruly and in
need of control and socialisation, but rarely
as competent agents and citizens with rights.
Adults do not necessarily see the world as it
is experienced by young people and may ask
questions that are not important to young
people. This paper presents our learning from
working with young people across several
projects that focused on crime-related issues
and explores their capacity for making a
difference in crime and anti-social behaviour.
New conversations are needed both with
young people, and within the academic
research community about how we can
support young people, what kinds of skills
and competencies they need and how we
can enhance the capacity of young people to
effect change in their own communities.

Session 3 -

Starts: 13.40 Ends: 14.55

Panel 1 - room no. 024

Desisting from Crime Panel Chair Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Una Barr, University of Central
Lancashire
Title: Voicing desistance: female experiences

of the road from conviction
Abstract: Criminological theory and research
has historically focused on explaining how
people get into crime and much less on how
and why they stop, despite the perennial
finding that most of those with convictions
do eventually stop offending. The very
meaning of desistance however has been
much contested, yet has broadly been linked
with themes such as maturity, adult social
bonds, agency, identity and hope (Bottoms
et al, 2004). Even more concerning, however,
is the further marginalisation of already
marginalised groups within the vast majority
of desistance literature. The bulk of research
in this area can be noted for the salience
of the white male perspective of offending
trajectories. This paper aims to contribute
to this under-researched area by giving a
female voice to desistance research.
The methodology which informs this work
is observation research and individual
narrative interviews of groups of females with
convictions. I argue for a feminist approach
to desistance, which recognises that a huge
proportion of women in the criminal justice
system stem from backgrounds of abuse,
economic disadvantage and alcohol, drug
and mental health issues. Yet we must move
away from the dichotomy of narratives of
victimisation and survival and recognise that
women have agency. We must challenge
the neo-liberal and patriarchal approach to
desistance which promotes womens role as
care givers and unpaid volunteer workers.
Womens desistance can challenge neo-liberal
patriarchal constructs much in the same way
that womens offending often does.

Name: Marianne Doherty, Durham University

Title:

The inside-out prison exchange

programme an introduction to
inside-out: defining the parameters
of the programme and a possible nexus
with desistance theory

Abstract: This paper examines the

Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme,
establishing the parameters of the
Programme, the impact of the Durham
University-led UK Pilot and my doctoral
research which considers a possible nexus
between Inside-Out and Desistance Theory.
Inside-Out is, at its most basic level, the
fusion of two groups, one inside group
and one outside group in a correctional
facility who meet weekly, to talk, to write
and fundamentally, to learn from each
other. This paper discusses the aim of my
doctoral research which is to assess the
narratives of Inside-Out participants in
order to explore the relationship between
the pedagogical approach to and individual
experience of the Programme and
subsequent relationship with the process
of desistance. Although desistance was
never an intention of the Programmes
aims and objectives, it has already been
found that participating offenders have
displayed a higher propensity for desistance
from criminal behaviours. I present the
view that participants of the Programme
undergo change, specifically role transition
which is arguably a critical component of
desistance. Allowing participants to explain
their experience of the relationship between
Inside-Out and desistance provides a more
nuanced understanding of the extent of this
change and how educational courses with
the Programmes pedagogical approach
can contribute to the desistance process.
Crucially this not only explains the relationship,
but it can actively inform future approaches
to educational programmes and rehabilitative
strategies which will also impact current and
future Inside-Out participants.

Name: Rebecca Woolford - Research and

Analysis Officer , WYCRC & Natalie Watson,
Durham University
Title: Investigating the impact of group

inductions on personalisation and

desistance: a comparative study based

in West Yorkshire community

rehabilitation company
Abstract: Over the last decade there has
been increased emphasis on implementing
evidence-based practices and/or datadriven strategies to effectively support
recidivism. This project aims to provide
best practice evidence to develop, monitor
and sustain the Induction process within
Probation Services. The theory behind this
project is to highlight the positive impact of
personalisation to help break the cycle of
offending behaviour, encouraging desistance
from crime. Literature on desistance suggests
that a more personalized approach will assist
in rehabilitating Service Users. This project will
evaluate elements of personalisation within
Group Inductions using a cross comparison
with 1:1 Inductions. WYCRC has recently
implemented Group Inductions across 2
geographical locations designed to elevate
high caseloads, financial constraints and
staffing resources. In contrast, areas with
smaller caseloads have remained with 1:1
Inductions. This project will identify if the
Group Induction process can accommodate
the individual needs of Service Users
investigating the impact on personalisation,
engagement and compliance. The first phase
of the project evaluates the Induction process
through observations, Staff and Service User
discourse. The second phase live tracks the
individual journey of Service Users throughout
the different stages of their Probation Order.
Ultimately this project will provide evidence
to inform policy and practice on the impact
of implementing Group Inductions on Service
User personalisation and desistance from
crime.

Session 3 -

Starts: 13.40 Ends: 14.55

Panel 2 - room no. 009

Victims and witnesses in the Criminal justice System Panel Chair Matt Jones, Northumbria University
Name: Jayne Edwards, Newcastle Law
Centre
Title: The role of civil law advice in supporting

victims of crime
Abstract: When thinking of supporting victims
of crime, the immediate voluntary-sector
services we think are support and counselling
services. The work of Law Centres offering
civil law legal advice might not obviously spring
to mind.
However, many vulnerable victims of crime
are in need of legal advice and this is
increasingly the case in the current political
climate. Since LASPO 2012, with the severe
reduction in Legal Aid funding in civil law and
in light of the recent EU Directive on Victims
Rights, Law Centres are being looked to
as potential partners in providing civil law
resolutions to assist victims in their recovery.
One example of this is providing family law
advice to domestic violence victims and
people seeking FGM Protection Orders.
Newcastle Law Centre, funded by the
Police and Crime Commissioner for
Northumberlands Supporting Victims
Fund has worked with a range of victims
to explore ways in which civil law advice can
support them both in their recovery but also
in preventing them from becoming victims
of crime in the future. Having worked for
example with victims of domestic violence
and sexual exploitation on family law matters,
victims of hate crime on immigration and
family law matters, we feel there may be
a vital role for civil law advice services to
support the most vulnerable victims of crime.
Here we invite critical discussion into whether
this is a new area of victims rights to be
considered.

Name: Rob Ewin, University of Cumbria

Title: What should we do with these

vulnerable and intimidated witnesses?
Abstract: Witnesses are a key area of
discussion within the Criminal Justice arena,
many recent Government policies have
sought to identify themselves as being a
signal for change and reform. In recent
years a Victims Commissioner and Police
and Crime Commissioners have all vowed to
enhance the service delivered to victims and
witnesses. However, the process of being
a witness in a criminal trial is still a complex
and often intimidating affair for both victims
and witnesses. Research suggests that
vulnerable and intimidated witnesses are not
identified are the earliest of opportunities;
the Inspectorate of Constabulary has
raised concerns around the ability of Police
Forces to identify and gather evidence from
vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and
also raises concerns around the quality of
casefiles.
My research seeks to identify why the current
practice fails to identify vulnerability and
satisfactorily identify witnesses who would
benefit from specialist measures under the
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence act
1999. The methodology being developed
in this research is a form of Deliberative
Inquiry and the results from a pilot study
indicate that training, awareness and the
courts themselves are areas which could be
improved and will be discussed. This evidence
is already being used to inform criminal justice
agencies and develop a meaningful base
for the promotion of measures to assist
witnesses.

Name: Beverley Gilbert, NCSPVA

University of Worcester
Title: An exploration of the experiences

of domestic abuse survivors working

in the field of domestic abuse support

work: reinforcement of recovery or re

victimisation revisited?
Abstract: The woman survivor I interviewed
had felt anger towards professionals whilst in
her role as Woman Support Worker. However,
this woman felt that after some time working
as a trainer, her anger had dissipated and
she felt that she was empowering herself
by expressing her views and experiences to
professionals in a more constructive way.
There is little published work that evaluates
the experiences and views of survivor
practitioners in the field of domestic abuse.
This paper considers how survivors of
domestic abuse might have a variety of
experiences, views and opinions about what
working in the field means for them as women
surviving experiences of domestic abuse. This
paper considers survival and subsequent
employment in womens support services,
most specifically those elements of potential
importance, such as self esteem and selfactualisation (Abrahams, 2010). Does work in
the field of domestic abuse re victimise and
reinforce the victim identity? Alternatively,
does it capture a womans ability to repair
through finding a sense of purpose after such
life crushing events? Indeed, does this in turn
act as reinforcement of recovery, resilience
and ultimately of survival?

Session 3 -

Starts: 13.40 Ends: 14.55

Panel 3 - room no. 007

Responses
Sexual offences,
to sexual
domestic
abuseabuse,
and exploitation
and gendered
Panel
violence
Chair Ian
Panel
Cook,
Chair
Northumbria
Charlotte University
Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Nina Hyowon Kang,
Queens University Belfast

Name: Chijioke J Nwalozie,

De Montfort University Leicester

Title: Review of sex offender legislation

development in South Korea from a

comparative perspective

Title: People trafficking the Nigerian

experience

Abstract: In South Korea, the government and

the legislature have experienced increasing
public anger and pressure to create legislation
to enhance monitoring and confinement of
sex offenders. There have been the similar
trends to in many Western countries such as
England and Wales and the United States,
too. This paper reviews the current trends
in sex offender legislation in South Korea,
including sex offender registration and
community notification, electronic monitoring
and enhanced sentencing as well as the
rationale behind such legislative development.
Particular focus will be on how an emphasis
on victimhood within discourse on criminal
justice is connected with such punitive policy
trends by comparatively examining legislative
responses to sexual abuse against children.
The content of this paper forms a part of
my PhD thesis entitled The Punitive Effect
of Victim-Focused Discourse on Criminal
Legislation: Legislative Responses to Child
Sex Abuse in England and Wales and South
Korea.

Abstract: People trafficking is a conundrum

and arguably a bourgeoning trans-national
organised crime, which is concerning to
the International Community. It involves
the irregular migration of people often for
the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced
labour and domestic servitude. Drawing on
victims perspectives, this paper focuses on
the factors responsible for the trafficking of
Nigerian women to Italy. The paper concludes
that the problem of trafficking is largely
located in the socio-economic and cultural
conditions of the source country (Nigeria)
and its lack of adequate information and
education programmes to help women avoid
becoming victims of trafficking.

Name: Terry Murphy, Teesside University

Title: Rotherham and the organised abuse of

children challenges to liberal

criminology?
Abstract: Recent cases of multiple victims
of sexual exploitation in Rotherham and
elsewhere have presented challenges to
liberal criminological thought. The major and
disproportionate presence of perpetrators
from the British Pakistani community
highlighted in multiple cases in recent years
have created a number of social and political
consequences. From the right and far right
the reality of these crimes have been linked
to a range of disparate phenomena including
the migrant crises and immigration and more
recently group sexual assaults in German
,Sweden and elsewhere to suggest that
shared misogynistic cultural beliefs among
the perpetrators and by extension their
community create specific threats to women
additional to those well identified common
risks . From the left responses have often
been limited to reiterating statistics on wider
crimes of sexual abuse rather than examining
the specific characteristics of these serious
crimes and looking for commonalities across
a range of these decades long crimes and a
more direct critical engagement with issues
of culture ,misogyny and occidentalism.

Session 3 -

Starts: 13.40 Ends: 14.55

Panel 4 - room no. 012

Practical issues for criminal justice Panel Chair Hanneke Mol, Northumbria University
Name: Helen Williamson,
University of Brighton
Title: Developing an understanding of illegal

firearm supply in England and Wales
Abstract: Over the past 11 years recorded
firearm offences in England and Wales have
fallen on a yearly basis, from a high of 10,338
offences during 2003-04 to 4,777 offences
during 2014-15 (figures exclude air-weapons).
Recent statistics demonstrate over 50
percent of these recorded offences comprise
of unidentified, imitation, reactivated or other
firearms (Lau, 2012), indicating the presence
of a number of individuals who are modifying,
reactivating or manufacturing firearms from
scratch. Currently there is relatively little
known about these individuals, including where
they are positioned within the overall gun
supply process (Hales et al, 2006). An initial
typology of criminal armourers, offered by
Williamson (2015), identified seven potential
categories of individuals who have previously
been responsible for supplying these types of
weapons to meet demand. This presentation
will provide an overview of the development
of this initial typology and introduce network
structures identified in regard to the onward
distribution of illegal firearms in England and
Wales (thus far identified from open-source
data only).
Furthermore this presentation will discuss
the methodological approaches envisaged to
undertake research with the aim to develop
and explain the activities, motivations and
modus operandi of criminal armourers
and outline the emerging method of crime
script analysis including its potential use for
understanding this specific crime type.

Name: Elvin Balajanov, University of Leeds

Title: Age of criminal responsibility for

cybercrimes: an insight into approaches

adopted in Azerbaijan with comparison

with UK
Abstract: In order to address the challenges
arising from the transnational character of
cybercrime both Azerbaijan and UK have
joined the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention
on Cybercrime and started to bring their
legislative framework into compliance with
the Convention. Notwithstanding the fact that
the relevant legislative frameworks have been
harmonised with the Convention, there are
discrepancies present in national laws which
diminish the effectiveness and efficiency of
international cooperation, and therefore the
actual protection against and prevention of
cybercrime. This is due to the reason that
despite cybercrime exhibiting a transnational
character, its criminalization stays dependent
on national perceptions and implementation.
Criminalization of an act requires the
incorporation of three compulsory elements,
which include social / public danger (harm
/ threat to harm), culpability, and formal
prohibition by laws under the threat of
punishment. The Convention on Cybercrime
mainly guides the member states in
harmonizing only some of the details of these
elements. One of the necessary elements
of culpability, the minimum statutory age of
criminal responsibility, has been totally left
to the choice of the signatories themselves.
In Azerbaijan, for example, the age of 16 is a
prerequisite for being subjected to criminal
responsibility for committing cybercrimes,
while it is 10 in England and Wales. This paper
critically evaluates the appropriateness of
approaches adopted by UK and Azerbaijan
regarding the minimum age of criminal
responsibility to fighting cybercrimes and
implications of differences on fostering
international co-operation.

Name: Praveen Jhalani & Sudeep Khanna

Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur,
India
Title: Combating Contraband Cell Phone use

in Prison
Abstract: In the contemporary world wireless
telephone has become a widespread
technology that allows people to connect
with anyone, anywhere, at anytime. These
advancements in the technology are welcome
in society in general, but they are having the
negative impact on the law enforcement
community, as criminals have taken
advantage of cellular technology to conduct
illegal activities. The use of inexpensive,
disposable cell phones has distorted the
ancient cat-and-mouse game of controlling
inmates correspond with the outside world
and is creating serious problems for public
safety officials. Contraband cell phones have
been used by inmates to arrange the murder
of witnesses and public safety officers, traffic
in drugs, and manage criminal enterprises.
This illegal use of cell phone among inmates
jeopardizes the safety of Indian communities
and public safety officials. For combating
these illegal activities new strategies are
required and for that law enforcement and
investigation agencies need to upgrade their
skills, instruments and capabilities to deal with
modern crime because existing technologies
and Laws are not able to gain pace with the
existing requirements. This research paper
provides a broad overview of the international
obligations and guidelines, with respect to the
care, security and control of prisoners and
summaries the various steps taken towards
prison reform in India. It further focuses on
the method of concealment, prevention
strategies and workable polices.

Session 4 -

Starts: 15.30 Ends: 16.50

Panel 1 - room no. 024

Safeguarding and Risk Panel Chair Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Rhona OBrien & Julie Taylor
University of Cumbria
Title: Sexual abjection: social class, gender

violence and systemic safeguarding

failures in Rotherham.
Abstract: In this paper, the multi-agency
safeguarding failures highlighted by the
findings of the Rotherham Inquiry are
addressed. Through an analysis of the
relationship between child sexual exploitation
and economic deprivation, this paper
develops a theoretical framework around
heightened vulnerability and institutional wilful
blindness to help explain these extraordinary
safeguarding failures. We will argue that
the concept of sexual abjection provides a
useful conceptual tool to better understand
the exploitation of girls and young women
and the failure of government agencies and
local communities to protect them. Through
engaging a dialogue with sociological theories
of social abjection (Tyler, 2013), the politics
of disgust (Skeggs, 2005) and cultural
intelligibility (Butler, 2010) we define sexual
abjection as a dehumanising attitude through
which victims are targeted by perpetrators
and ignored by safeguarding professionals.
In order to achieve our collective goals of
improving safeguarding policy and practice,
this paper argues that a radical re-framing
of the ways in which economic disadvantage
is perceived, exploited and disavowed is
required. By questioning historical and
hierarchical cultures of denial in which female
victims are ignored, blamed and denigrated,
this paper uses a case study to consider
harnessing the potential which participative
engagement and professional attachment
might offer. Moreover, by questioning the
relationships between citizenship, social
class, sexual violence and justice, this paper
proposes a transformative approach through
which professional empathy might be
promoted and sustained.

Name: Joanna Murphy, Durham University

Title:

Perceptions of risk with regard to

problematic parental drug use:
contested perceptions of risk between
childrens safeguarding social workers,
adult drug misuse workers and their
agencies.

Abstract: This paper is a preliminary

examination of the areas of agreement and
dispute between professionals working in
the arena of child protection and work with
problematic parental drug users. Within
my doctoral research, I explore the ways in
which this professional divide is embedded
in the governmental departmental structure,
and the strategic guidance and legislation
of the relevant agencies. I intend to argue
that despite a plethora of statutory and
voluntary agencies in both fields, there
are common professional world views in
both areas of practice, which lead to quite
different perceptions of risk. These can be
complimentary but are equally likely to lead
to contested assessments of risk in families
in need of support and children in need of
protection. The adult focus of mainstream
drug work contains an implicit recognition
of the adult as an individual in possession
of individual human rights including the right
of agency in making decisions. In contrast,
the child protection world has a strong focus
on the needs of the child and of the duty to
enforce normative parental behaviour.
I examine the ways in which divergent risk
analysis is influenced by these different
ethical and legislative positions, and how
working together can improve outcomes for
children and families with problematic drug
use.

Name: Joanna Kemplay Adhikari

Leeds Trinity University
Title: Partner experiences of risk, aggression

and impulsivity in domestic abuse: an

interpretative phenomenological

analysis
Abstract: Identifying those who are at a high
risk of domestic abuse is a critical issue in
safeguarding victims and their children. Prior
work on perpetrators of domestic abuse
has made links between the personality
constructs of impulsiveness and impulsive
aggression on physical violence (Edwards,
Scott, Yarvis, Paizis & Panizzon, 2003), yet
to date there are no studies that have
considered integrating partner reporting
measures of impulsivity and aggression into
risk assessments for domestic abuse. This
paper presents the first, qualitative, part of a
larger mixed-methods PhD project aimed at
exploring this. Utilising the qualitative research
technique of Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA), semi-structured interviews
with six victims/survivors of domestic abuse
were carried out to explore their lifeworld,
their experiences of domestic abuse, and
their perceptions of their partner. Initial
findings are emerging in the form of the
following superordinate themes: Concepts of
self, romantic love, and family involvement,
Disempowerment, emotional exhaustion
and processing difficulties, Consciousness
of risk, and unconscious actions of managing
it, Partner as coercively controlling and
aggressive, and Partners characteristics
as intense and troubling. These findings will
inform the subsequent studies within the PhD,
particularly in exploring the accuracy of victim
perceptions of aggression and impulsivity in
relation to how they may inform future risk
assessments. The potential enhancement of
existing partner perception risk assessment
tools used by practitioners will undoubtedly
benefit adult victims and their children by
reducing the number of deaths, injuries and
mental health issues caused by domestic
abuse.

Session 4 -

Starts: 15.30 Ends: 16.50

Panel 2 - room no. 009

Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings Panel Chair Kelly Stockdale, Northumbria University
Name: Verity Wainwright
University of Manchester

Name: Kara Danks

Northumbria University

Name: Michelle Addison, Lisa Crowe &

Eileen Kaner, Newcastle University

Title: Offending characteristics of male

ex-armed forces personnel in prison

Title: Developing a prison based health

related peer role informed by evidence,

theory and practical considerations: an

exploration of the complexities.

Title: A pilot feasibility trial of alcohol

screening and brief intervention in the

police custody suite setting

Background: Ex-armed forces personnel

represent the largest known occupational
subset of offenders in prison yet we know
very little about their previous offending
behaviour, or their pre-service anti-social
behaviour (ASB).
Methods: A total of 105 male former service
personnel in prison were interviewed across
six prisons in England. Their pre-enlistment
ASB was assessed via a researcher
administered questionnaire that also
assessed symptoms of current common
mental health problems and substance
misuse. Participants offending histories were
obtained via their records at the prison.
Results: Most of the sample were serving
their first custodial sentence (55%) and
serving for violent index offences (32%). The
majority had previous convictions recorded
(70%) and 42% of these had offended prior
to their service in the armed forces. A high
level of alcohol misuse in the year prior to
entering prison was found with 56% of the
sample screening as having at least harmful
and/or hazardous levels of drinking. High
levels of pre-service adversity (67%) amongst
the sample were also found with half (50%)
defined as having pre-service ASB.
Conclusions: The findings of the study suggest
interventions should focus on targeting violent
behaviour and alcohol misuse amongst exarmed forces personnel in prison. Limitations
of the study are discussed alongside
recommendations for future research.

Abstract: The health of prisoners is a growing

concern evident both in current literature
and social policy. Prisoners tend to come
from socially disadvantaged communities
and compared to the general population, and
are at greater risk of non-communicable and
communicable diseases. These individuals
often have complex health needs that can
be linked to their criminogenic risk factors. A
range of multi-faceted peer support roles
are currently utilised in prison settings and
they can be beneficial to those who receive
and those who provide these interventions.
The prison environment serves as a unique
situation providing an opportunity to engage
individuals with high levels of needs in healthrelated behaviour change. However, healthrelated peer roles are not without challenges
including the conflicting values of the prison
environment and health promotion, security
issues and training. This paper will explore the
development of a health-related peer role in
the North East prisons including a summary
of what is known about peer interventions in
the prison setting, the application of theory
in this process, and the enabling factors and
barriers pertinent to the context.

Introduction: There is extensive evidence

of a link between alcohol use and offending
behaviour, with significant police time spent
on alcohol-related incidents. This study aims
to test the feasibility of a trial of screening
and brief intervention in police custody suites
to reduce future heavy drinking and reoffending behaviour.
Methods: A three-arm pilot feasibility Cluster
Randomised Control Trial with embedded
qualitative interviews with staff and arrestees
to explore acceptability issues.
Results: We recruited 205 arrestees:
79 controls, 65 brief advice and 61 brief
counselling. The follow up rate at 6 months
was 28.8%; 12 month follow will be completed
in July 2016. Follow up with participants
in prisons has been successful due to the
population being static rather than transient.
In the study, 53% of screened arrestees were
hazardous, harmful or dependent drinkers.
Mental health issues increased with higher
AUDIT score, with 78.4% dependent drinkers
signalling feelings of anxiety/depression.
Despite extensive training, detention officers
did not fully grasp all aspects of the trial.
However, all arrestees interviewed to date,
reported awareness that they did not have
to participate and that the trial was separate
from police work, demonstrating detention
officers successfully following research ethical
protocol. Many arrestees reported concerns
about their alcohol practices, and were keen
to help others in similar positions.

Conclusion: We were able to recruit sufficient

numbers in to the plot trial but subsequent
retention at follow-up is challenging.
Nevertheless, excessive drinking and its
consequences was a concern for both
detention officers and arrestees.

Session 4 -

Starts: 15.30 Ends: 16.50

Panel 3 - room no. 007

Crime
Sexualacross
offences,
borders
domestic
Panelabuse,
Chair and
Hanneke
gendered
Mol, Northumbria
violence Panel
University
Chair Charlotte Bilby, Northumbria University
Name: Ruth E. McKie, Northumbria University

Name: Chu Van Dung, University of Leeds

Title: Scoping a criminological analysis

of climate counter movement

organisations

Title: Combating transnational crime:

can police forces from different

jurisdictions work together?

Abstract: Already the Climate Counter

Movement has drawn considerable attention
in the sociological literature (Brulle, 2015;
Farrell, 2015; Jacques et al, 2008; McCright
and Dunlap, 2015). However, room remains to
draw links between this group of actors and
criminological theory. Drawing on previous
literature and early preliminary findings from
a research project, this presentation sets
out a criminological investigative agenda to
explain and analyse the behaviour of this
powerful group of actors. One avenue to
do this is by applying Sykes and Matzas
(1957) criminological theory Techniques of
Neutralisation to examine the messages
employed by these organisations, why they
employ these techniques and what outcome
this may have on public understandings of
climate change.

Abstract: Transnational crime is nowadays

viewed as both national and transnational
phenomenon. Although there are differences
in culture, legal tradition and even political
regime between countries, each country
sees demands to cooperate with another to
handle this transnational issue. Transnational
policing has emerged and has become
an increasingly important police activity.
However, questions remain about how police
forces which differ by jurisdiction can work
together. Is there an ethical framework for
transnational policing that police forces in any
country can share and respect? This paper
considers whether ethics play an important
role in transnational police cooperation as
well as achievement of transnational policing.
Thus, this paper will explore the meanings
of ethics by examining three usages of
ethics in transnational policing: instrument
of cooperation, ethics as a public good, and
ethics as an instrument to restraint police
powers.

Name: Dainis Ignatans, University of

Huddersfield
Name: Eleftherios Nomikos
University of Huddersfield
Name: Greg Los, University of Kent
Title: The before, after and in between of

immigration: criminal interactions of

foreign born in England and Wales.
Abstract: A long history of research links
community stability and low rates of crime.
Given inevitable population flux consequent
upon the flight from the Middle East and
North Africa, the fullest and most sensitive
analyses of population change on policing
and other services seems essential.
Crime committed against, amongst and
by those born outside a host country has
been extensively examined. A reduction
in aggregate crime is often linked with
immigration (Entorf and Larsen 2004; Bircan
and Hooghe 2011; Martinez and Lee 2000;
Bell, Machin and Fasani 2010; Sampson
2008). Such analyses are bedevilled by the
complex effects of population and rate of
change and composition of population.
The present research represents a starting
point for taking the discussion further by
analysing how distribution of immigration and
crime has changed during the last decade
and by addressing the potential criminalvictim interactions amongst immigrant
and host populations. Police recorded
crime statistics, UK Census data, Crime
Survey for England and Wales as well as a
number of other criminological data sources
are analysed in order to address three
points. First, what criminal, economical and
deprivation characteristics are associated
with local authorities where foreign
populations are high. Second, the possible
impact of the immigrant inflow on crime is
explored while taking into account existing
immigrant populations. Third, with immigrant

populations becoming increasingly more

concentrated, relatively new Middle Level
Super Output area data is used in
order to explore associations between
likely and unlikely immigrant mixes and
crime against and by them.

Session 4 -

Starts: 15.30 Ends: 16.50

Panel 4 - room no. 012

Gender & Sexuality Panel Chair Matt Jones, Northumbria University
Name: Donna Peacock & Alistair Irons
University of Sunderland
Title: Women in cybersecurity: closed doors,

sticky floors and glass ceilings
Abstract: It has been previously suggested
that girls do not aspire to employment in
technology professions because of wider
social constructions of gender impacting on
their identity (Macdonald, 2014; techwomenuk,
2015) and because technology is firmly
coded male and is a fundamental way in
which gender is expressed in any society
(Bray, 2007: 38). The problem is compounded
due to the masculinisation of security work
in general (WSS, 2013).For those who do
enter the industry there is not only a glass
ceiling, but also a sticky floor (Valenduc,
2011). This paper considers the impact of
gender in the cybersecurity industry. The
findings are based upon a quantitative study
conducted by means of an online survey
that considers the motivations, experiences
and progression of those working within
computer security roles. The findings suggest
that cybersecurity offers an interesting and
challenging work environment, job security,
and excellent opportunities for progression
and development. Barriers remain for
women; the respondents in this study feel
that computer security is viewed as a mans
job by wider society and by customers
and clients. There is perceived gender
inequality in recruitment, opportunities and
progression. Despite a recognised gender
disparity within cybersecurity the subject has
received limited attention in the academic
literature. The gender imbalance is of special
interest beyond its contribution to academic
knowledge when considering the current skills
gap that the sector is attempting to close in
relation to a growing cybercrime threat.

Name: Paul Biddle, Northumbria University

Title: Transgender offenders in the criminal

justice system: disadvantage, dilemmas

and what can be done?
Abstract:The treatment of transgender
offenders in the criminal justice system
has recently attracted considerable media
attention. However, there is a somewhat
longer history of academic research
about the experiences of those who are
transgender, which has identified transpeople as experiencing multiple-dimension
and interrelated economic and social
marginality.
Much research undertaken specifically
about transgender offenders in the criminal
justice system is USA-centric. Studies
have focused on transgender people as
victims, links between transgender status
and offending, over-representation of
trans-people in the offender and prison
population, their (overwhelmingly negative)
experiences of incarceration, and the need
to reform prison policy and practice. A small
number of UK studies have critically analysed
how professionals, with responsibility
for resettlement and rehabilitation in
the community, respond to transgender
offenders. However, it has been argued
further research is needed to better
understand trans-peoples experiences of the
criminal justice system which include insights
from trans-people.
This paper will summarise what is known
about transgender offenders and their
experiences of the criminal justice system,
and how gender binaries, legal, societal
and professional definitions and medical/
psychological narratives act to label,
pathologize, control and deny legitimacy to
trans-people, which creates dilemmas for
criminal justice agencies and shapes transpeoples disadvantageous experience of the

criminal justice system. The paper will discuss

how we might (re)conceptualise gender
and introduce possible changes to the way
that the criminal justice system deals with
transgender offenders which may support
their more appropriate punishment and
rehabilitation and associated challenges
that accompany such change.
Name: James Pickles, Northumbria University
Title: Is there a need for a queer criminology?
Abstract:Criminology has largely been
informed and devloped by heterosexuals
through the lens of heterosexuality.
Understandings of LGBTQ communities
and their relations with the criminal justice
system and criminological processes are
thus particularly weak. Criminology has
so far viewed the heterosexual reality as
being the only reality to experience crime.
Further, queer people are often depicted
as the victims of crime or as the other.
Arguably queer criminology has often been
resisted due to the white, heterosexual
dominance that has saturated our knowledge
heteronormativity. This paper advocates
for a shift in criminological thought to be
more inclusive of LGBTQ perspectives in
order to understand the different realities
of victimisation and offending relating to
sexual orientation or gender presentation. It
addresses the gap in criminological discourse
by highlighting the saturation of hetero-centric
standpoints. I explore what criminology can
learn from queer theory by adopting a queer
standpointism within current discourses. By
using theories of intersectionality (Crenshaw,
1993) and identity performativity (Butler,
1990) this paper utilises attempts of queer
inclusivity made by Groombridge (1999) and
Woods (2014) to advance our understandings
of Queer Criminology. The aim of this paper
is to use queer theory in order to destabilise
the criminological lens used to examine crime
by arguing we all have fluid, intersectional,
and unstable identities with which we

experience the world. There is no one way to

be queer and no one way in which we should
percieve and understand Criminology.

Continuing your Professional Development

Staff in the department of Social Sciences are actively engaged in continuing
professional development (CPD) activities with a range of partners including the
Police, Probation, Prison, Youth Offending Teams, Voluntary Organisations, and
charity organisations, and have ongoing research and training activities and interests
on a range of themes associated with the Criminal Justice Sector including; offending
behaviour, policing practice, equalities issues, mental health and rehabilitation.
To find out more about any of these activities, please email Dr Siobhan Daly, Director
of CPD: siobhan.daly@northumbria.ac.uk

New Course starting September 2016: Postgraduate Certificate in Research and

Analysis for Organisations.
The Post Graduate Certificate in Research and Analysis for Organisations is a new
programme of study which is being developed to equip students with the broad
analytical skills to enable them to develop and deliver excellent services, which are
informed by sound evidence and robust data analysis. This programme is specifically
designed for people who are working in, or wish to work in, research or analyst
related posts
The programme will be a part time programme of study and students will study two
modules: Social Research Methods and Applied Social Research Methods. Delivery
will commence in September 2016. For further information about this course please
contact Seema Patel: seema.patel@northumbria.ac.uk