Professor Gwen Robinson
School of Law
Deputy Head of School
Departmental Director of One University
+44 114 222 6863
Full contact details
School of Law
CF1
Bartolome虂 House
Winter Street
91探花
S3 7ND
- Profile
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I have worked at the School of Law since 2002, having completed a PhD at the University of Wales, Swansea. My first degree was in psychology (University of Sussex) and I completed a masters in Applied Social Studies and a Diploma in Social Work at the University of Oxford in 1996.
Since joining the University of 91探花 I have been involved in a number of empirical research projects and have published in the areas of: probation service reform; offender rehabilitation and management; community sanctions/penalties; and restorative justice.
In the last 10 years my research has focused on the implementation, experience and consequences of a series of criminal justice reforms which saw the part privatisation of probation services in 2014, and their renationalisation in 2020. In 2014-16 I was part of a research team which successfully applied for an ESRC Urgency grant to examine the transition of probation staff from a public sector Probation Trust to a privately owned Community Rehabilitation Company in one case study area. In 2020 we won a further ESRC grant, enabling us to examine the reunification of probation services in an expanded National Probation Service. This study is a collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Nottingham, Southampton and Liverpool John Moores.
I have also conducted research on the role of probation in the magistrates' courts (2017-18) and I am co-editing a book (with Dr Nicola Carr, University of Nottingham) on Time and Punishment.
- Qualifications
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- PhD, University of Wales, Swansea
- MSc Applied Social Studies and Diploma in Social Work, University of Oxford
- BA (Hons) Psychology, University of Sussex
- Research interests
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- Non-custodial Punishment
- Offender Rehabilitation and Management
- Probation Reform
- The Sociology of Punishment
- Restorative Justice
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Publications
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Books
- Restorative Justice in Practice. London: Routledge.
- Rehabilitation, Crime and Justice. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Offender Rehabilitation: Theory, Research and Practice. SAGE.
- Rehabilitation, Crime and Justice. Palgrave Macmillan.
Edited books
- Time and Punishment: New Contexts and Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan/Springer.
- Community Punishment: European Perspectives. London: Routledge.
- Alternatives to Prison: Options for an insecure society. Willan Pub.
Journal articles
- . Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ).
- . The British Journal of Criminology.
- . Probation Journal, 70(4), 331-349.
- . The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice.
- . Crime, Media, Culture, 17(2), 235-254.
- . The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 60(2), 151-166.
- . Punishment and Society, 22(1), 70-89.
- . Probation Journal, 66(4), 451-455.
- . Criminology and Criminal Justice, 19(5), 605-621.
- . Probation Journal, 66(1), 60-76.
- . Probation Journal, 65(3), 316-334.
- . Probation Journal, 64(4), 337-353.
- . Criminology & Criminal Justice, 17(2), 192-208.
- . The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 56(2), 137-157.
- . Criminology and Criminal Justice, 17(1), 40-61.
- . Punishment & Society, 18(1), 95-112.
- . British Journal of Criminology.
- . European Journal of Probation, 7(3), 179-200.
- . European Journal of Probation, 7(3), 171-178.
- . European Journal of Probation, 3(6), 203-208.
- Castigo en sociedad: La improbable persistencia de la probation y otras sanciones y medidas comunitarias (Punishment in Society: The Improbable Persistence of Probation and Other Community Sanctions and Measures).
- . Criminology and Criminal Justice, 14(2), 123-142.
- Doing 'Strengths Based' Research: Appreciative Inquiry in a Probation Setting. Criminolgy and Criminal Justice.
- Investing in 'Toughness': Probation, Enforcement and Legitimacy. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 51(3), 300-316.
- Reformer la probation en Angleterre at au Pays de Galles : revisiter l'influence de 'What Works'. Actualite juridique penal.
- . European Journal of Probation, 1(1), 3-20.
- Exploring the dynamics of compliance with community penalties. Theoretical Criminology, 12(4), 431-449.
- . Punishment and Society, 10(4), 429-445.
- . BRIT J CRIMINOL, 48(3), 337-358.
- . Criminology and Criminal Justice, 7(1), 5-32.
- . Probation Journal, 54(4), 318-337.
- . Theoretical Criminology, 10(4), 505-532.
- . Probation Journal, 53(4), 334-346.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 44(3), 307-318.
- . British Journal of Social Work, 33(5), 593-610.
- . Probation Journal, 50(1), 30-40.
- Exploring risk management in the probation service: contemporary developments in England and Wales. Punishment and Society, 4(1), 5-25.
- Power, knowledge and 鈥榳hat works鈥 in probation. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(3), 235-254.
- Risk management and rehabilitation in the probation service: collision and collusion. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 421-432.
- Improving practice through pilot studies: the case of pre-sentence reports鈥. Vista: Perspectives on Probation, 3(3), 186-195.
- . Criminology & Criminal Justice.
Chapters
- , Time and Punishment (pp. 203-225). Springer Nature
- , Time and Punishment (pp. 1-33). Springer Nature
- Is constructive practice still possible in a competitive environment? Findings from a case study of a community rehabilitation company in England and Wales, EVIDENCE-BASED SKILLS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH ON SUPPORTING REHABILITATION AND DESISTANCE (pp. 57-78).
- Opening a window on probation cultures A photographic imagination, ROUTLEDGE INTERNATIONAL HANDBOOK OF VISUAL CRIMINOLOGY (pp. 268-279).
- Punishment in the community In Liebling A, McAra L & Maruna S (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Criminology Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Patrolling the Borders of Risk: The New Bifurcation of Probation Services in England & Wales In Bosworth M, Hoyle C & Zedner L (Ed.), Changing Contours of Criminal Justice (pp. 42-54). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- , Probation (pp. 245-261). Palgrave Macmillan UK
- Studying the evolution of 'community punishment' in comparative context INTRODUCTION, COMMUNITY PUNISHMENT: EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES (pp. 1-12).
- Community punishment and the penal state CONCLUSION, COMMUNITY PUNISHMENT: EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES (pp. 228-241).
- Introduction: Studying the evolution of 'community punishment' in comparative context In Robinson G & McNeill F (Ed.), Community Punishment: European Perspectives (pp. 1-12). Routledge
- Conclusion: Community punishment and the penal state In Robinson G & McNeill F (Ed.), Community Punishment: European Perspectives (pp. 228-241). Routledge
- Three narratives and a funeral: Community punishment in England & Wales In Robinson G & McNeill F (Ed.), Community Punishment: European Perspectives (pp. 30-50). Routledge
- Practising offender supervision In McNeill F & Beyens K (Ed.), Offender Supervision in Europe Palgrave Macmillan
- , Understanding Penal Practice (pp. 139-152).
- Rehabilitation In Bruinsma G & Weisburd D (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice Springer
- What Counts? Community Sanctions and the Construction of Compliance, WHAT WORKS IN OFFENDER COMPLIANCE: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES AND EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (pp. 26-43).
- Punishment in Society: The improbable persistence of probation and other community sanctions and measures In Simon J & Sparks R (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Punishment and Society SAGE
- Pre-sentence reports in England and Wales: changing discourses of need, risk and quality In McNeiil F, Raynor P & Trotter C (Ed.), Offender Supervision New Directions in Theory, Research and Practice Routledge
- Liquid Legitimacy and Community Sanctions In Crawford and Hucklesbury (Ed.), Legitimacy and Criminal Justice
- The dynamics of compliance with community supervision In McNeill F, Raynor P & Trotter C (Ed.), Offender Supervision: New Directions in Theory, Research and Practice Willan
- Probation in the United Kingdom In Herzog-Evans M (Ed.), Transnational Criminology Manual International Courts Assoc
- Reducing recidivism: A task for restorative justice? In Hoyle C (Ed.), Restorative Justice Routledge
- Restorative Justice In McIvor G & Raynor P (Ed.), Developments in Social Work with Offenders Jessica Kingsley Publishers
- Social work in the criminal justice system In Davies M (Ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Social Work Blackwell
- Sentence management In Robinson G & Bottoms A (Ed.), Alternatives to Prison: Options for an insecure society (pp. 313-340). Willan
- Purposes matter: examining the 鈥榚nds鈥 of probation practice, What Matters in Probation (pp. 277-304).
- Pulling some threads together In Bottoms A, Rex S & Robinson G (Ed.), Alternatives to Prison: Options for an insecure society (pp. 406-424).
- How did we get here? In Bottoms S, Rex S & Robinson G (Ed.), Alternatives to Prison: Options for an insecure society (pp. 1-27). Willan
- Risk and risk assessment In Chui WH & Nellis M (Ed.), Moving Probation Forward: Evidence, arguments and practice (pp. 277-304). Editorial Dunken
- Social work in the criminal justice system In Davies M (Ed.), Blackwell Companion to Social Work (pp. 259-265).
- How practitioners conceptualise quality In McNeill F, Raynor P, Trotter C, Taxman F, Ugwudike P & Graham H (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Rehabilitative Work in Criminal Justice Routledge
- The 鈥楾ransforming Rehabilitation鈥 agenda in England and Wales: implications of privatisation In McNeill F, Raynor P, Trotter C, Taxman F, Ugwudike P & Graham H (Ed.), Routledge Companion to Rehabilitative Work in Criminal Justice
Book reviews
- . Probation Journal, 67(4), 456-457.
- . The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 59(1), 107-108.
- . Probation Journal, 66(4), 468-469.
- . British Journal of Criminology, 55(3), 635-637.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 54(1), 96-97.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 52(5), 546-547.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 51(5), 537-538.
- . CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE, 11(4), 388-390.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 50(3), 338-338.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 49(5), 545-546.
- . Probation Journal, 57(2), 198-200.
- . International Review of Victimology, 16(1), 119-120.
- . The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 48(2), 231-232.
- . Probation Journal, 53(1), 83-84.
Reports
- Pre-Sentence Reports: A review of policy, practice and research
- Probation staff views of the Skills for Effective Engagement Development (SEED) project
- Probation staff views of the Skills for Effective Engagement Development (SEED) pilot
- Understanding 鈥楺uality鈥 in Probation Practice: Findings from a study in three Probation Trusts
- The Quality of Probation Supervision: A literature review
- The Quality of Probation Supervision 鈥 A literature review: summary of key messages
- Does restorative justice affect reconviction? The fourth report from the evaluation of three schemes.
- Restorative Justice: The Views of Victims and Offenders: The Third Report from the Evaluation of Three Schemes
- Restorative justice in practice: findings from the second stage of the evaluation of three schemes
- Restorative Justice in Practice: The second report from the evaluation of three schemes
- Restorative Justice in Practice: Findings from the second phase of the evaluation of three schemes
- Implementing restorative justice schemes (Crime Reduction Programme): a report on the first year.
Theses / Dissertations
Dictionary/encyclopaedia entries
- . In Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice Springer New York.
- 鈥楻别蝉别迟迟濒别尘别苍迟鈥. In Dictionary of Probation and Offender Management Willan.
- 'Prediction'. In Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work Blackwell.
- 鈥楻isk management鈥. In Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work Blackwell.
Other
- Research group
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Areas of Research Supervision
- Non-custodial punishment
- Offender rehabilitation and management
- Probation practice/reform
- Grants
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Title/Description: Rehabilitating Probation
- Awarding Body: ESRC
- People Involved: Gwen Robinson: with Matthew Millings, Lol Burke, Nicola Carr, Harry Annison
- Years Funded for: 2021-2024
Title/Description: Devolving Probation Services
- Awarding Body: ESRC
- People Involved: Gwen Robinson: with Matthew Millings and Lol Burke (Liverpool John Moores University)
- Years Funded for: 2014-2015
Title/Description: Evaluation of 3 Restorative Justice Schemes
- Awarding Body: Home Office/Ministry of Justice
- People Involved: Research team led by Joanna Shapland
- Years Funded for: 2002-2007
- Teaching interests
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All of my teaching is in the field of criminal justice and restorative justice, and in areas in which I have research and/or practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge.
In all of my teaching I endeavour to incorporate aspects of 鈥榬eal world鈥 issues and controversies, through activities such as debates and documentary screenings.
- Teaching activities
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The modules I teach are:
Undergraduate
Punishment and Penal Policy (Convenor)
Rehabilitation of Offenders (Convenor)
Skills for Criminologists (Convenor)
Postgraduate and MA
Restorative Justice (Convenor)
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Member of Editorial Advisory Group, British Journal of Criminology
- Editorial Advisory Board Member, Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
- Editorial Board Member, Probation Journal