In this series of blogs, HERC takes a multidisciplinary approach to exploring harmful evidence and evidencing harm. We consider the roles of harm and crime, uses and abuses of evidence in criminal justice and criminalisation to de-criminalisation.
** All views in the blogs are the author’s own.
In this article, Sharon Hartles and Dan McCulloch explore the potential impact of new immigration rules for non-UK nationals sleeping rough in the UK. Sharon Hartles was awarded an MA in Crime and Justice (with distinction) from The Open University and is a member of the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative (HERC), and Dan McCulloch is a Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at The Open University.
Sharon Hartles critically reflects on the year 2020 and explores the shifting approach towards rough sleepers within an unprecedented global pandemic. Sharon Hartles was awarded an MA in Crime and Justice (with distinction) from The Open University and is a member of the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative (HERC).
In todays blog, Dr Kathryn Chadwick and Dr Becky Clarke, from Manchester Metropolitan University, discuss what must be done to stop women dying in prison.
Daniel McCulloch and Dr Victoria Cooper explore the current situation regarding homelessness and housing policy. The Government has shown they can tackle homelessness during Covid-19, so what will they do next?
The homeless and especially those who are rough sleepers, comprise a disproportionate number of people in prison in England and Wales. Dr David Scott looks at why prisons and the streets are not a replacement for a true home.
In this article, Sharon Hartles critically examines the journey so far towards the implementation of the remaining eight recommendations set out in the landmark publication of the Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review First Do No Harm report in July 2020. Furthermore, she explores the wider impacts this publication has set into motion. Sharon Hartles was awarded an MA in Crime and Justice (with distinction) from The Open University in December 2019 and is a member of HERC.
In this blog, Dr David Scott offers a critical appraisal of the legacy of the Woolf Report. The blog argues that whilst Woolf was heralded at the time of publication, it is a dated and limited approach to the penal crisis and the activists and practitioners looking for radical change should engage with the voices of prisoners, ex-prisoners and the families of prisoners in the present struggle.
In this article, Dan McCulloch critically explores claims of a relationship between participatory visual research methods and 'voice'. Dan McCulloch is a Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at The Open University.
We take prisons for granted - but how effective are they? Are there better alternatives? In a new BBC ideas video, David Scott and Deborah H. Drake ask what a world without prisons would be like.
Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski considers the arguments for educating prisoners. Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski is a PhD candidate in Criminology, Associate Lecturer, and Regional Manager in the Students in Secure Environments team, at The Open University.