Professor Rosa Freedman of the University of Reading and Professor Jo Phoenix of The Open University talked about their experience of deplatforming at the University of Essex in the months leading up to the first COVID lockdown. The problems of deplatforming are, however, wider than these particular events, and extend also beyond universities.
When a former Supreme Court Justice denounces a sentence as a ‘stain’ on our justice system, you might think that there would be accelerated review and action at a high level of the state.
The subject content concerned the historic design and contemporary usage of the modern day courthouse, but more particularly I found myself gripped by a fascinating chapter entitled, 'Docks and locks in criminal courts.'
We developed the map as part of our After Prison programme, a programme grounded in the simple proposition that there is always a better use for a piece of land than as a place for a prison.
Our experience tells us that standing for improved knowledge and understanding is not always without controversy.
For instance, when, more than a decade ago, we established the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs with David Nutt, we were clear that drugs policy was unlikely to be effective if it was not informed by the best scientific evidence. This standpoint, unremarkable in itself, was controversial because of the politics of drugs, then and now.
That is why, as part of our post-lockdown work, we want to open up our building and its facilities to a range of collaborators who share our values and work in the fields of crime and criminal justice.
Following our initial call for suggestions last month, we are now in discussion with one potential partner about a series of events in our meeting room in September. We have also had discussions with another partner about hosting meetings aimed at parliamentarians and policy makers.
These two series form part of our programme priority to promote knowledge of crime and criminal justice.
Over the past decade, for instance, we have supported the creation of three organisations: DrugScience, One Small Thing and The Community Plan. All three, in different ways, are taking forward work initially hosted, incubated or developed by us.
The book is richly drawn from his East End roots and brings together his insights on crime and criminality through the lived experiences of many of those involved in law breaking and skulduggery he had known and caroused with. The sub-heading of the book - Talking with thieves, gangsters and dealers - prompted me to jump back in time to recall two clients steeped in offending, who I had supervisory responsibility for when working as a probation officer in London.
In 2012 I (Rona) published research on the rights of the child when mothers are sentenced in the UK criminal courts. In this research I pointed out that under the Human Rights Act the rights of the child to a private life - which must include the right to the care of her/his parent - were engaged when a parent with care is sentenced.
The map has been developed as part of our After Prison project. Through After Prison, we are working with local communities around prisons, raising awareness and supporting action about how prison sites can be used differently to meet people’s needs.
In this piece, we explore whether traumatic experiences are always destined to be traumatic and how it appears helpful to suggest they are.