Does prison work?

In this Season Four launch episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus) chats with Prof Alison Liebling (University of Cambridge), Prof Nicola Padfield (University of Cambridge), and Prof Arnaud Philippe (former IAST) about the increasing prison population, the realities of prison life, and the most effective strategies for rehabilitating ex-offenders.

Our experts discuss why the prison population is growing and the similarities and differences across European countries. They share their expertise on the impact of the prison environment and the privatisation of prisons for rehabilitation. They also identify best practices for effectively rehabilitating and reintegrating ex-offenders into society.

Season 4 Episode 1 transcript

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST (Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse) visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

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With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Stella Erker
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

More information about our host and guests:

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus; both organisations are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott

Alison Liebling is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge and the Director of the Institute of Criminology’s Prisons Research Centre. She has carried out research on life in prison for over 30 years. Alison has written numerous books and is finishing writing another one on ‘Moral rules, social science and forms of order in prison’.  She was made a member of the British Academy in 2018. @AlisonLiebling

Nicola Padfield KC (Hon) is Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, where she has worked for more than 30 years. She has a broad research lens, engaged in both ‘hard’ law and in socio-legal-criminological research. She is a leading European expert on sentencing law, including the law and practice of release from (and recall to) prison. A barrister by training, she has published widely on criminal law, sentencing and criminal justice. Nicola is a Bencher of the Middle Temple, where she chaired the Education and Training Committee. She has been an expert advisor to a wide variety of criminal justice organisations.

Arnaud Philippe is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics of the University of Bristol. He studies the criminal justice system to better understand the determinants of criminal behaviour, how judicial decisions are made, and the consequences of sanctions on individuals. He works in several countries collaborating with public administrations to gain access to large administrative datasets. He is currently an associate researcher at the French Penitentiary Administration. @ArnaudPhilipp