News
Securing Criminal Justice in Times of Austerity
On Tuesday 26 April 2016, CJC members Prof Jackie Hodgson and doctoral student Juliet Horne attended by invitation the Diocese of Worcester Criminal Justice Affairs Group Workshop. Juliet was part of a panel of experts alongside experienced practitioners from the CPS, the Court Service, the National Probation Service, West Mercia Police and the criminal defence profession. Chaired by His Honour Toby Hooper, the panel discussed the theme of ’Securing Criminal Justice in Times of Austerity’ with an audience of policy-makers, practitioners and representatives of faith communities. The discussion will form the basis of a paper to be presented by members of the Criminal Justice Affairs Group at the University of Worcester and William Temple Foundation’s “Social Justice: building a fairer, more equal society” Conference in June 2016.

Forthcoming publication: From the domestic to the European: An empirical approach to comparative custodial legal advice
Jackie Hodgson contributed to the Handbook on Comparative Criminal Procedure edited by
This Handbook presents cutting-edge research that compares different criminal procedure systems by focusing on the mechanisms by which legal systems seek to avoid error, protect rights, ground their legitimacy, expand lay participation in the criminal process, and develop alternatives to criminal trials, such as plea bargaining, as well as alternatives to the criminal process as a whole, such as intelligence operations. The criminal procedures examined in this book include those of the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Russia, India, Latin America, Taiwan, and Japan, among others.
Jackie's own contribution is entitled 'From the Domestic to the European: An Empirical Approach to Comparative Custodial Legal Advice'.
Forthcoming publication: Disclosure and Custodial Legal Advice
'What Are Prisons For?' - Kim Brownlee at the Forum for European Philosophy public discussion
CJC member Kim Brownlee will take part to the Forum for European Philosophy public discussion on Tuesday 15th March 2016. The public discussion is hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science and will discuss the following topic: 'What Are Prisons For?'.
In this time of austerity, many of those who want a small state are also committed to a highly expensive criminal justice apparatus that has little demonstrable deterrent effect. But are there other, more direct arguments against the use of imprisonment as a dominant form of punishment? If so, what are they? Why do they so often fall on deaf ears? And does the current economic climate make it more likely that those in power will listen?
Other speakers include Dr Christopher Bennett (University of Sheffield) and Andrew Neilson (The Howard League for Penal Reform). More details are available here:
The () is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.
Jackie Hodgson to train Greater Manchester Police officers
Next week, Jackie Hodgson - with the assistance of her PhD student, Divya Sukumar - will be training over 80 officers from Greater Manchester Police on safeguards for young suspects during police interrogation. This training session flows from Jackie's participation in a large-scale, EU-funded research project in collaboration with colleagues from four other jurisdictions.
More information on the research project is available on the .