Research impact
Brunel’s Harm and Justice Research Group actively engages and collaborates with various communities and looks to impact policy and practice, both beyond and within academia.
Past research projects of group members have resulted in:
Practice-focused publications and presentations
We have made significant contributions through practice-focused publications and presentations.
Dr Matthew Cracknell has delivered presentations and webinars for the National Association of Probation Officers on resettlement and reintegration policy and practice, and at the Probation Institute on supervision and return to prison for short sentence populations.
Dr Rachel Stuart has delivered presentations on the criminal victimisation of Travellers at an All-Party Parliamentary Group and on the Church of England’s responses to the increasing criminalisation of Gypsy Travellers at the Lambeth Palace.
Dr Julie Trebilcock has made several presentations on gambling harms for the HM Prison and Probation Service Steering Group, Probation Service, GamCare, the Commission on Crime and Gambling Related Harm, and the Bristol University Hub for Gambling Harms.
Dr Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal has published articles in The Conversation on the forced eviction of the Chagossians due to state co-offending by the US and the UK, and her work on developing a framework for criminology to embed a decolonising culture in teaching has led to presentations to scholars in other disciplines, including law, sociology, and psychology.
Dr Matilde Rosina has delivered presentations on migration governance to officials from the UK’s Foreign Office and Home Office, as well as to counterparts in Italy. She has also published articles on the topic in The Conversation.
Books with global readership
Dr Ebony Reid’s upcoming book Trap Life examines the psychological underpinnings of street crime in inner-city London.
Impactful community collaborations
Our research has also resulted in impactful community collaborations.
Dr Magali Peyrefitte produced a report and magazine with the Colinsdale Communities Trust on public and community engagement on the Grahame Park Estate in London.
Dr Rachel Stuart authored a report commissioned by Doctors of the World on the health of street-level sex workers in Newham and worked with Human Rights Watch to improve working conditions for webcam performers in Colombia.
Dr Julie Trebilcock’s research on gambling and crime has empowered community members to voice their experiences and support their recovery journeys, leading to the development of a Lived Experience Advisory Panel that provides avenues for gambling treatment support.
Changing practice
Our work has led to changes in practice within the public sector and the criminal justice system.
Dr Matthew Cracknell's evaluation of the Transitioning to Adulthood Probation Hub has resulted in meaningful changes.
Dr Rachel Stuart's research was used to justify Newham Council's decision not to introduce Public Space Protection Orders, which would have further criminalised sex worker residents.
Dr Julie Trebilcock's work has influenced discussions about modifying screening tools used to assess gambling harms among criminal-justice-involved individuals.
Dr Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal has contributed to the evaluation and support of police-run restorative justice programmes.
Government reports and evidence
Members of our group have influenced public policy by presenting evidence and reports to the Government.
Dr Matthew Cracknell has produced reports on improving the prison estate, the future of the probation service, and community sentences.
Dr Eoin Guilfoyle has provided expert evidence on community sentencing and sentencing guidelines.
Dr Rachel Stuart has collaborated with colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on reports regarding the impact of policing on sex workers' health and access to Covid-19 prevention for marginalised communities. Dr Stuart has also co-authored a report on how the digital exclusion of Roma and the Artistic Diaspora in Margate impacted the town’s regeneration.
Dr Julie Trebilcock has authored reports on gambling-related harms and the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway.
Dr Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal serves on the advisory board of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Restorative Justice.
In the media
- Dr Ebony Reid’s interviews with BBC Radio 4, The Guardian, Vice UK on street violence and crime
- Dr Julie Trebilcock’s interview with BBC’s Woman’s Hour on women’s experiences of gambling crimes and addiction
- Dr Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal's interviews on BBC World, BBC Scotland, and BBC Gloucestershire on the war crimes in Ukraine and with ABC News Australia on the Chagos Archipelago