In memory of Erwin James: Reflections from a Lifer

Dr Alice Bennett is a Registered Psychologist at HMP Frankland and has worked in the Prison Service since 2006, mainly within discrete units for those who are considered high-risk in high secure prisons. Outside of the prison walls, Alice engages in research and is a journal reviewer. She advocates practitioners publishing work as well as promoting co-working between academia and practice. Dr Rachel Worthington is a Registered Psychologist and a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University. Rachel has with over 20 years’ experience of working with clients inprisons, secure psychiatric hospitals and in the community. Her clinical work focuses on assessment and delivery of therapy for adult and adolescent clients with personality difficulties, mental illness, intellectual disabilities and acquired brain injury. More recently, she has developed a tool (the ‘Brain Friendly Passport’) to support people with neurodiversity to access more tailored support. Rachel has published widely onneurodiversity, and improving pedagogical approaches in Forensic Psychology. Key references: Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2016). The smart but scattered guide to success: How to use your brain's executive skills to keep up, stay calm, and get organized at work and at home. Guilford Publications. Honos-Webb, L. (2010). The gift of ADHD: How to transform your child's problems into strengths. New Harbinger Publications. Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2014). The adult ADHD tool kit: Using CBT to facilitate coping inside and out. Routledge. Sedgwick, J.A., Merwood, A. & Asherson, P. (2019). The positive aspects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a qualitative investigation of successful adults with ADHD. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 11(3), 241–253. Solanto, M. V. (2011). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult ADHD: Targeting executive dysfunction. Guilford Press. Worthington, R. E., & Bennett, A. (2023). Improving access to forensic psychology education and training for learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Forensic Update, 144, 32-39.

Professor Jo Clarke, PhD., is an internationally acclaimed academic and expert on resilience, and founder of the Petros organisation. Jo learned her craft working as a psychologist in the prison service for over 20 years. She is a regular speaker and trainer, nationally and internationally, on the subject of individual and organizational resilience, and has authored a number of chapters and papers on the subject. Committed to life-long learning, she remains abreast of current research and developments in the area and with her dedicated team, strives to continually develop evidence-based interventions to promote thriving at work and at life. Further reading: Clarke, J (2022) How to thrive in treatment: Organizational and Individual duty of care In Sex offender Assessment, Treatment, and Management: Emerging Directions and Debates Uzieblo, K., Smid, W., & McCartan, K (Eds). Palgrave MacMillan Clarke, J (2017)  The Resilient Organisation in Ireland, J. L., Ireland, C. A., Fisher, M., & Gredecki, N. (Eds.) pp236-251. The Routledge International Handbook of Forensic Psychology in Secure Settings. Taylor & Francis Clarke, J & WIlson, P (Eds) (2013) Forensic Psychology in Practice: A Practitioners Handbook Palgrave MacMillan, Hants Paton, D., Violanti, J.M., (2008) Stress Shield: A model of police resiliency Johnston, P., Burke, K.J., Clarke, J.M., & Keenan, D International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 10(2), pp 95-107 Clarke, J.M (2008)  Promoting Professional Resilience.  In M. Calder (Ed) Contemporary Risk Assessment in Safeguarding Children, pp.164-180. Russell House Publishing

Dr. Catharine Booth joined HM Prison and Probation Service in 1997. During her career she has worked with men, women and children in custody and currently works in HMPPS North West Psychology Services. Cath has been involved in the management of serious incidents in prisons for over 20 years as a practitioner and trainer. She acts as a Silver and Gold negotiation advisor (NA) and is involved in training prison officers and psychologists to become negotiators and negotiation advisors, respectively. Cath completed her doctoral research in exploring the experiences of prison officer negotiators. Dr. Carol Bond has been a forensic psychologist for over 30 years, spending most of her career working in prisons as well as practicing in secure psychiatric hospitals, working as a specialist member of the parole board and lecturing in academic settings. Throughout her career she has been involved in the management of serious incidents including training staff, advising negotiators and commanders during incidents, developing specialist training courses and working with other professionals involved in crisis management. She is the national lead for HMPPS negotiation matters and has recently completed her Doctorate exploring hostage incidents in UK prisons. Key references: McMains, M., Mullins, W., & Young, A. (2020) Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections (6th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429505225 Cialdini, Robert B. (2021) Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion. New York: HarperCollins. Grubb, A. (2010) Modern day hostage (crisis) negotiation: The evolution of an art form within the policing arena. Aggression and Violent Behavior. 15. 341-348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2010.06.002

Dr. Lucy Johnstone is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and worked in Adult Mental Health for many years. She has written and lectured widely on critical perspectives in mental health theory and practice. She is a lead author of the 'Power Threat Meaning Framework' (2018). Dr. Jo Ramsden is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead for Yorkshire Humberside Personality Disorder Partnership. Jo was a contributor to the Power Threat Meaning Framework, and has led the way in supporting its application to forensic settings. Key references: The PTMF website, with the main PTMF documents, along with interviews, slides, resources, good practice examples etc: https://www.bps.org.uk/member-networks/division-clinical-psychology/power-threat-meaning-framework Accessible overview of the PTMF as a basis for constructing narratives: https://www.pccs-books.co.uk/products/a-straight-talking-introduction-to-the-power-threat-meaning-framework-an-alternative-to-psychiatric-diagnosis Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trauma-Recovery-Aftermath-Violence-Political/dp/0465061710 The PTMF in forensic services: Blog by Jo Ramsden: https://pegortwo.wordpress.com/ Interview with Jo Ramsden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqUMKNdK0-o Willmott and Evershed (2018) 'Interviewing people given a diagnosis of personality disorder in forensic settings' International J of Forensic MH Reis, Dinelli and Elias (2019) ‘Surviving prison: Using the PTMF to explore the impact of long-term imprisonment.’ Clinical Psychology Forum, 313 Willmott and Jones (2022) Trauma-informed forensic practice. Routledge (see especially chapter 2) Chapter 12 by Jo Ramsden and Kerry Buckley: 'The PTMF: Implications for practice within the criminal justice system' in 'Challenging Bias in Forensic Psychological Assessment and testing. Glenda Liell, Martin Fisher and Lawrence Jones(eds) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Challenging-Forensic-Psychological-Assessment-Testing/dp/1032138289

Fiona Williams is a Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).  She is the Head of Interventions Services, a team of specialist staff who are responsible for the design of accredited programmes.  Her remit also includes responsibility for accredited programmes staff training and the quality assurance of all programme delivery across over 200 prison and probation delivery sites. Rosie Travers leads the evidence based practice team in HMPPS. This is a small team of staff dedicated to bringing the best available evidence into our everyday practice in prison and probation, scanning the latest academic research and translating that into practice-relevant headlines for busy colleagues, and helping evaluate what difference that makes. Rosie is a forensic psychologist and worked for many years developing and evaluating offending behaviour programmes before moving a few years ago into an evidence team with a wider remit. Alan Scott joined the Prison Service as an Assistant Governor in 1983 from university and was posted to HMYCC Wellingborough. He then moved to HMP Gartree before being posted to HMP Haverigg and then HMP Preston as Deputy Governor, where he was then promoted to Governor of HMP Preston. After running HMP Wymott, he became Area Manager South West then returned to the North West as Area Manager. He acted as Director of Prisons for 6 months prior to becoming Director of Public Sector Prison North. He was appointed AED for the NW and Women’s Estate in October 2023. Areas of responsibility held include Young Adult Lead for HMPPS until recently and Chair Of Rehabilitative Culture Programme Board. Shadd Maruna is Professor of Criminology at Queen’s University Belfast and the Past President of the American Society of Criminology. He is the author of the books Making Good and Rehabilitation: Beyond the Risk Paradigm with Tony Ward.  Key references: Mann, R. E., Hanson, R. K., & Thornton, D. (2010). Assessing risk for sexual recidivism: Some proposals on the nature of psychologically meaningful risk factors. Sexual Abuse, 22(2), 191-217. Mann, R. E., Fitzalan-Howard, F., & Tew, J. (2018). What is a rehabilitative prison culture? Prison Service Journal, 235, 3–9. Travers, R., Williams, F., & Willis, G. M. (2020). Recognising a trailblazer; celebrating a colleague; thanking a friend. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 26(2), 145-150. Maruna, S., & Mann, R. E. (2006). A fundamental attribution error? Rethinking cognitive distortions. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 11(2), 155-177.  De Vries Robbé, M., Mann, R. E., Maruna, S., & Thornton, D. (2015). An exploration of protective factors supporting desistance from sexual offending. Sexual Abuse, 27(1), 16-33.  Dean, C., Mann, R. E., Milner, R., & Maruna, S. (2007). Changing child sexual abusers' cognition. Aggressive Offenders' Cognition: Theory, Research, and Practice, 117-134.  Maruna, S., & Mann, R. (2019). Reconciling ‘desistance’and ‘what works’. Academic Insights, 1, 3-10. 

Last week we very sadly lost Erwin James, who was a champion of prison reform through his journalism - a career he started while still serving a life sentence in prison. In 2021, we were honoured to welcome Erwin as a guest on the Forensic Psychology Podcast, and we wanted to repost that interview to remind ourselves of his thoughts on the role forensic psychologists played in his time in prison. Erwin James was a Guardian columnist and contributor - a career he started in 1998 while still serving in prison. He then became Editor in Chief of Inside Time, the national newspaper for people in prison. He became a writer in prison where he served 20 years of a mandatory life sentence. He was a Commissioner on the panel of the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice. Erwin was the author of three books: A Life Inside: A Prisoners Notebook, The Home Stretch: From Prison to Parole, and Redeemable: a Memoir of Darkness and Hope. Further reading: Levering Lewis. D. (1994, first published 1973). Prisoners of Honor: The Dreyfus Affair (1994).   Henry Holt & Company Solzhenitsyn, A. (2003, first published 1966). Cancer Ward. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Tolstoy, L. (1998, first published 1869). War and Peace.  Oxford University Press  www.thereader.org.uk 

Jane Read has over 25 years experience of working within the High Security prison estate.  In that time she has worked in the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme (DSPD) and was closely involved in the development of the assessment & treatment models for this programme. For 15 years Jane was the director of psychological services at HMP Wakefield and since January 2018 she has been the clinical Framework Progression Lead for the Directorate of Security. In 2023 Jane was awarded an OBE for services to prison and the community. Debbie Marsh is has worked as a psychologist in HM Prison and Probation Service  for 25 years and is currently a regional lead psychologist in HMPPS. Debbie has experience working with a range of client groups. Her current specialism is in counter-terrorism. Within her role, Debbie provides organisational and professional leadership of psychology services across the service and including policy development and integration into wider agenda. Other key areas of work include risk assessment, interventions, crisis negotiations and working in discrete units. Key references: Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature,  2004 Richard P. Bentall (Author), Aaron T. Beck (Foreword) Power Threat Meaning Framework - Overview version | BPS

Professor Huw Williams is a professor of Clinical Neuropsychology. He has pioneered research focusing on traumatic brain Injury in those involved in the criminal justice system, and neuro-rehabilitation and crime. He and colleagues have shown that a substantial number of people in contact with the law have traumatic brain Injuries. Findings have influenced screening and assessment for TBI nationally and internationally, contributing to changes in the UN Convention on Rights of the Child for enabling better support for those with neurodisability to lessen risk of criminalisation. He is a co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Acquired Brain Injury Group (CJAABIG) (Now ABI and Justice Group).

R. Karl Hanson, Ph.D., C.Psych., is one of the leading researchers in the field of risk assessment and treatment for individuals with a history of sexual offending. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist, he was a researcher and research manager in the area of corrections and crime policy for Public Safety Canada between 1991 and 2017. Dr. Hanson has published more than 175 articles, including several highly influential reviews.  He is the lead author of the Static-99R, STABLE-2007, and ACUTE-2007 risk tools, which are widely used for assessing the risk and needs of individuals with a history of sexual offending.  Based in Ottawa, Canada, he is currently President of the not-for-profit organization SAARNA (Society for the Advancement of Actuarial Risk Need Assessment) and adjunct faculty in the psychology department of Carleton University (Ottawa). Dr Philip Howard is the Head of Risk Assessment Data Science at the Ministry of Justice. He has worked as a statistician, social researcher and now data scientist on prison, probation and offender assessment issues since 1996. He is the author or co-author of each of the actuarial risk assessment instruments now in use in HMPPS. Key reference: Helmus, M. (2021) Estimating the Probability of Sexual Recidivism Among Men Charged or Convicted of Sexual Offences: Evidence Based Guidance for Applied Evaluators. Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention,Vol. 16, Article e4283, https://doi.org/10.5964/sotrap.4283

Adrian Turner joined the prison service 1988 as a prison officer, working at Ashford Remand Centre. He subsequently worked at HMP Full Sutton, HMP Norwich, HMP Whitemoor, PSC Newbold Revel, HMP Lindholme, HMP Channings Wood, HMP Gloucester, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Bristol, HMP Sudbury and currently works as the Senior Operational Lead for the open estate. Prior to working in headquarters he was Governing Governor of Sudbury open prison for seven years. He has worked at every level of HM Prison and Probation Service and in every type of establishment. His main motivation is to help rehabilitate prisoners and give them the skills they need to lead a crime free life. Sudbury was particularly strong in this area with around 50,000 ROTL events per year helping prisoners build and embed protective factors such as accommodation, employment, children and families which are known to be key to successful rehabilitation. At Sudbury they would routinely have between 150 and 200 prisoners at work in the community each day, working in multiple industries matched to their skills, knowledge and qualifications. This gave them the best opportunity to lead crime free lives on release creating safer communities. Dr Gary Goodley is a principal Forensic Psychologist working in prisons across the Midlands. He has over 16 years experience working in prisons, the last 10 of which have been spent based in open prisons. Gary recently completed a PhD evaluating the effectiveness of risk management protocols in open prisons. Key references: Andvig, E., Koffeld-Hamidane, S., Ausland, L. H., & Karlsson, B. (2021). Inmates’ perceptions and experiences of how they were prepared for release from a Norwegian open prison. Nordic journal of criminology, 22(2), 203-220. Clark, D. A., Fisher, M. J., & McDougall, C. (1993). A new methodology for assessing the level of risk in incarcerated offenders. The British Journal of Criminology, 33(3), 436-448. Goodley, G., & Pearson, D. (2023). Monitoring prisoners preparing for release: Who ‘fails’ in open prison conditions?. European Journal of Criminology, 14773708231183570. Goodley, G., & Pearson, D. (2023). Risk management in open prisons: A critical analysis and research agenda. Probation Journal, 02645505231173683. Mastrobuoni, G., & Terlizzese, D. (2022). Leave the door open? Prison conditions and recidivism. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 14(4), 200-233. McDougall, C., Pearson, D. A., Willoughby, H., & Bowles, R. A. (2013). Evaluation of the ADViSOR project: Cross‐situational behaviour monitoring of high‐risk offenders in prison and the community. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 18(2), 205-228. Statham, B. M., Winder, B., & Micklethwaite, D. (2021). Success within a UK open prison and surviving the ‘pains of freedom’. Psychology, Crime & Law, 27(8), 729-750.