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Prison research hub launched at Leeds Beckett
The Prison Research Network will be launched at an event held at Leeds Beckett’s Cloth Hall Court building in the city centre on Tuesday 28 April from 4-7pm. Leeds Beckett researchers will present their current work before a keynote lecture from Nick Hardwick, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, beginning at 6pm. At 7pm there will also be the opportunity to ask questions to Nick.
The network has been established by Helen Nichols and Dr Bill Davies, criminology lecturers and prison researchers within the University’s Centre for Applied Social Research. Dr Davies explained: “The Prison Research Network is a supportive network of academic and non-academic professionals with an interest in the prison and its wider impact on society. The aim of the network is to bridge the gap between previously separate academic disciplines to create a central hub of knowledge and support.
“The network has active members from across Leeds Beckett University and includes the following subject areas: sport science, physiotherapy, health promotion, speech and language therapy, architecture, history, law, playwork, criminology, sociology and psychology. The network also includes members from the NHS and the Prison Service, along with local prisoner-based charities and other national charities with a vested interest in penal reform.”
The launch event will showcase the work currently being done by members and open the network to a wider audience. Current research being presented on the day will include: Dr James Woodall’s National Institute for Health Research-funded work on peers in prison; Mike Wragg’s studies around children’s stress when visiting parents in prison; and Karl Lenton’s Wellness Pod, an initiative based at the University’s Enterprise and Innovation Hub, bringing portable spaces within prisons and currently being trialled at HMP Leeds.