News

Some our UKRI-funded Imagine Justice team got to present emerging findings at Eurocrim 2026 in Warsaw. We drew on empirical research, reflective practice, and collaborative work to explore where the concept of “lived experience” has come from; where it is now; and where it might go next. We’re still developing our analysis, but were excited…

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…

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…

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…

On 3 June 2026, Gill Buck spoke at the at University of Manchester introducing a recently published paper. The talk outlined themes in participatory justice across the 1800s. The discussion afterwards focused on historical methods, ethical dilemmas and conflicts in participatory justice work.  We extend our sincere thanks to Marion Vannier, Helen Gair and David Gadd for your hospitality and…

In April, Gill spoke at the European Conference for Social Work Research (ECSWR) in Aberdeen. Gill and colleague Dr Danica Darley from the University of Sheffield presented their reflective chapter “Lived experience informed criminal justice social work in England: A case of generative justice?”, which has been published in The Routledge International Handbook of Criminal Justice Social…

In April, Paula visited beautiful Bali to place lived experience research and activism on the world stage. Joined by Dwayne Antojado from Adelaide University, Donna Arrondelle from the University of Southampton and colleagues from Penal Reform International, Paula represented the team at the 7th World Congress on Probation and Parole, sharing emerging research findings, policy-based…

In February 2026, team members attended the Flip of the Coin and REALITIES Conference, Alness, Scottish Highlands to share findings from a photovoice study of Flip of the Coin, a women-led and lived experience driven community organisation in Scotland. Founded and led by a woman who wanted to create the community she herself had lacked…

At the start of December, Emma, Paula and Gill attended the very first “Becoming an Imagination Activist” weekend training at Hawkwood College, Stroud, Led by Phoebe Tickell, they embarked on an immersive journey of the imagination, learning new techniques for imagining different futures. Together we imagined a future world where prisons had been closed and…