The Transform Justice Podcast

It may sound like the plot of a Dickens novel, but there are children in the UK who are coerced by adults into performing criminal activity every day. In most cases, this involves children being tasked with selling or delivering illegal drugs. In this episode, our hosts are joined by Aika Stephenson, Legal Director of Just for Kids Law, and Dr Grace Robinson, an expert witness in cases involving c...

The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England & Wales rose by over a quarter from 2021 to 2022. At the same time, some politicians have expressed concern that police are spending too much time investigating what Liz Truss has referred to as 'Twitter rows and hurt feelings'. In this episode, hosts Penelope and Rob discuss hate crime and how society should address it with Neil Chakrabo...

Most experts agree that decriminalisation of drug possession and more robust social policy are the answer to drug-related harms. In December 2021 the government published a 10-year plan to tackle drug-related crime in the UK, aiming to cut supply and improve treatment options. But a new white paper building on this plan promises harsher-than-ever sanctions for recreational drug use, contrary to al...

So far, we've mainly discussed issues relating to people accused of crime. In this episode, we turn the tables and talk about what victims of crime really want. Hosts Penelope and Rob are joined by Lucy Jaffé, Director of the charity Why me? and Darryn Frost, who witnessed the terror attack on London Bridge in 2019 and helped restrain the attacker until police arrived. In the context of the govern...

In 2021 the government announced that it would dedicate £4 billion to building 20,000 new prison places by the mid-2020s. These plans have been faced with opposition from criminal justice experts and local communities. In this episode, Penelope and Rob are joined by Dr Kate Paradine, Chief Executive of Women in Prison and Nick Hardwick, Professor in Criminal Justice at Royal Holloway University of...

The pandemic saw an uptick in the use of remote technology in justice processes, with everything from legal advice in police stations to court hearings suddenly taking place online. The use of technology allowed practitioners to keep calm and carry on despite restrictions, but now that lockdown has ended, questions remain about the future of video technology in our justice system and its impact on...

The parole system in England and Wales has been the subject of much debate and scrutiny in recent years. In this episode, we take a look at the factors that go into the decision to release someone from prison, and ask whether the system is up to task. Hosts Rob and Penelope are joined by Nicky Padfield, Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the University of Cambridge, and Dr Laura Janes, con...

In this episode we discuss a very emotive crime - people being violent or abusive towards police and NHS workers. Recent legislation has increased the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker to 2 years - four times the maximum for assaulting anyone else. Penelope and Rob are joined by Caitriona Mclaughlin from Stokoe Partnership Solicitors and Mark Brown, former police officer and curr...

In this episode we explore pre-trial imprisonment, otherwise known as remand. The remand process allows people who have not been found guilty of a crime to be kept in prison, sometimes for months or even years, while awaiting trial. Rob and Penelope are joined by Griff Ferris of Fair Trials, and May Robson, who has researched the use of remand for foreign national women, to discuss why we imprison...

This episode shines a light on the experiences of children aged 10 to 18 held in police custody. On average, children suspected of committing a crime are held in a windowless cell for 11 hours with nothing to do and often no one to talk to. Rob and Penelope along with guests Mel Stooks, solicitor for the firm GT Stewart, and Dr Vicky Kemp, Principal Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham,...

This episode looks at the single justice procedure. It's the way most crimes in England and Wales are prosecuted, but many people have never heard of it. Penelope and Rob are joined by guests Naima Sakande, Deputy Director for the charity Appeal and Tristan Kirk, courts reporter for the Evening Standard, to discuss what the single justice procedure is, how it works, and where it's going wrong. Nai...