Welcome to Imagining Possible Futures
Our ambitious plan is to undertake the first large scale, participatory study of lived experience-led criminal justice across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Former prisoners and criminalised people take active roles as researchers, lecturers and trainers, practitioners (peer supporters, prison council and equality representatives, co-producers and leaders of services), policy and practice advisors, and (academic) authors advancing criminological theory. Despite growing forms of participation in criminal justice internationally, there is a need for a fuller evidence base.
The project has 3 core aims
To document a history lived experience-led criminal justice.
To critically examine current models of participation, coproduction and lived experience-informed criminal justice practice.
To use artistic and speculative design practices to explore future possibilities for participatory criminal justice.
If you are interested in being a participant in the research or collaborating on a project, get in touch, Gill Buck g.buck@chester.ac.uk
Meet the Team
Publications
Explore our list of publications for valuable insights and information
Free Resources
View and download our range of free resources
Photo & Artefact Gallery
View our galleries
News & Events
- Team publication: Crime-Narrative Complex
Visiting researcher Paula Harriott and collaborator Andi Brierley have published a reflexive article in Crime, Media and Society, available here. The paper introduces the Crime–Narrative Complex (CNC) as a concept for understanding how lived experience stories of crime, punishment, trauma and desistance are curated and commodified across criminal justice. It examines how institutional and digital… Read more: Team publication: Crime-Narrative Complex - British Society of Criminology
Visiting researcher Paula Harriott, along with some of our Experience for Justice collaborators hosted papers and panel sessions at the British Society of Criminology Conference, Nottingham, 2026. Paula critically and productively explored trauma informed practice in carceral contexts. Lucy introduced the work of Flip of the Coin, lived experience led community project, and Shadd and… Read more: British Society of Criminology - Knowledge Exchange through the Unlock leadership course
The Unlock Leadership Programme’s first residential retreat provided an opportunity for knowledge exchange between research, practice and lived experience communities. Gill Buck disseminated findings from the Imagining Posible Futures project, sharing insights into how lived experience has shaped understandings of justice and change across centuries. Hosted by visiting researcher Paula Harriott, the retreat brought together… Read more: Knowledge Exchange through the Unlock leadership course - Unlock Strategy Launch and John Samuels Inaugural Lecture
On 10 June 2026, Gill and Emma attended the launch of the new 5 year strategy for Unlock – for people with criminal records. The event was held at the beautiful Lincoln’s Inn, London, in honour of their long serving president, Judge John Samuels KC. It included a brilliant keynote from Professor Shadd Maruna (UKRI project mentor and… Read more: Unlock Strategy Launch and John Samuels Inaugural Lecture