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Picture of a homeless man in an orange sleeping bag

Lessons from Covid-19: It’s time for a radical approach to homelessness and housing policies

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?

23rd November 2020
Image of a homeless man sleeping in a park in Canada https://www.123rf.com/photo_31129604_14-may-2014-montreal-canada-homeless-person-sleeping-at-downtown-park-during-the-day-the-financial-c.html

No place like home: Prisons and homelessness

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.

18th November 2020
Julia Cumberledge calling for justice (screenshot). Photo Credit: APPG Horomone Pregnancy Tests (@APPGHPTs Twitter) Posted: 2 Sept 2020

Primodos: The next steps towards Justice

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.

10th November 2020
 Prisoners on the roof at Strangeways Prison in 1990. Photo Credit: Rex https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11489148/Prison-conditions-as-bad-as-Strangeways-25-years-ago-Lord-Woolf-says.html

Remembering and forgetting the Woolf Report

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. 

28th September 2020
A photograph of the word 'visual' inscried into a small metal tag, nailed into a wooden surface

Critical reflections on participatory visual methods and voice

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.

28th September 2020
A photo shows a prison door, with bars vertically across the screen, and a lock towards the right-hand side of the door

What would a world without prisons be like?

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.

28th September 2020
A photo of the author, Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski, stood outside of a prison

Why educate prisoners?

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.

28th September 2020
Myanmar Illicit Endangered Wildlife Market

Alternative Perspectives to nature

Dr. Eleni Dimou looks at how we have lost our relationality to nature and considers alternative indigenous perspectives that view human beings in connection and complementarity with Mother Earth.

6th August 2020

Primodos: The first step towards Justice

In this article, Sharon Hartles reflects upon the significant impacts of avoidable harms that have been perpetuated for decades through a culture of denial and an absence of state and corporate pharmaceutical accountability. 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. 

21st July 2020
Boris Johnson in care home

The perfect storm: reflections on the death of care homes residents and social care workers

In this article, Vickie Cooper reflects on the deaths of care home residents and social care workers in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. Vickie Cooper is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at The Open University.

9th July 2020

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