The government has just announced an independent review of sentencing to be carried out by Former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, David Gauke, and an expert panel. But will it help solve our prison crisis?

In this episode, our hosts are joined by Nicky Padfield, Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice, University of Cambridge, and John Bache, a magistrate and former Chair of the Magistrates' Association. They discuss how sentencing practices have contributed to our bloated prison population and what they hope to see out of the sentencing review.

This episode was recorded on 5th November 2024.

Professor Nicky Padfield KC @cambridgelaw

Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice, University of Cambridge

John Bache @JohnBache3

Magistrate and former Chair of the Magistrates' Association

Further resources

For more information about the Sentencing Review: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/independent-sentencing-review-2024-to-2025

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Lawyers and judges are the gatekeepers of our justice system. But the Post Office scandal has forced many to ask: are they the ethical backbone of society or enablers of injustice?

In our second episode looking at the scandal, hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Professor Richard Moorhead, University of Exeter, and John Hyde, Law Society Gazette, to discuss whether lawyers and judges were complicit in the miscarriages of justice which have emerged through the ongoing Post Office enquiry.

Who knew what when? Did they have a responsibility to disclose? What should they have done differently? Join us to dive into these questions and more.

Richard Moorhead @RichardMoorhead

Subscribe to hear more of Richard's thoughts on the Post Office scandal here: https://richardmoorhead.substack.com/

Read about Richard's research work here: https://postofficeproject.net/

Sign up to watch the livestream of Richard's Hamlyn Lecture on 13th November:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/2024/nov/hamlyn-lectures-2024-frail-professionalism

John Hyde @JohnHyde1982

Read John's work on the Post Office scandal here: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/john-hyde/3670.bio

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠

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

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

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

Tom O’Grady @DrTomD_OG

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

Campbell Robb @Nacro

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

Transform Justice
Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk
Twitter: @TransformJust1
Email: ⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠

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

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

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

Robin Fenwick @RobinComms

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

Dr Kate Leader @leader_kate

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

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠

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

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

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

Jon Yates @YouthEndowFund

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

Craig Pinkney @RealActionUK

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

Transform Justice

Website: ⁠www.transformjustice.org.uk⁠

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: ⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠

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

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

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

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

Rick Muir @rickmuir1

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

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

Transform Justice
Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk
Twitter: @TransformJust1
Email: ⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠

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

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

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

Premila Trivedi

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

Becky Clarke @beckyjoyC

Learn more about Becky's work here:

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

Further Resources

Read and download all three CourtWatch London reports here:

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

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

https://transformjustice.eo.page/courtwatchlondon

Transform Justice

Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: policy@transformjustice.org.uk

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

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

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

Dr Nicola Harding @NicolaAHarding

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

And explore Nicola's academic research here:

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

Professor Michael Levi

Explore Michael's academic research here:

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

Further Resources

CIFAS survey:

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

Fair4All Finance and We Fight Fraud report:

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

Transform Justice

Website: www.transformjustice.org.uk

Twitter: @TransformJust1

Email: policy@transformjustice.org.uk

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