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Prison reform debate is top of the agenda, says London Uni

PANNELIST: Tajae Tyrell

LONDON SOUTH Bank University (LSBU) will be hosting a topical guest lecture by the Howard League for Penal Reform, followed by a dynamic panel debate and discussion about the state of prisons in the UK on Wednesday 6 June.

The event, The True Cost of Prison, will take place at the University and panellists will include Rob Preece from the Howard League for Penal Reform – the oldest penal reform charity in the UK and Val Wawrosz, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Tempus Novo - an award-winning charity, that works with prisoners and ex-offenders to help them change the cycle of crime.

The debate will be chaired by Professor Craig Barker, Dean of the School of Law and Social Sciences at LSBU, who is also the Leader for the Centre for Social Justice and Global Responsibility.

Professor Barker said: "We are delighted to host and participate in this debate, which raises important issues about the criminal justice system and the state of prisons today. LSBU's Centre for Social Responsibility and Global Justice seeks to take a critical look at the nature and impact of social injustice, inequality and exclusion, both nationally and globally.

"This debate touches on many of those issues and by its very nature, will bring forward challenging, engaging and fresh ideas about prison reform."


PICTURED: Craig Barker

The guest lecture will be given by Rob Preece, Communications and Campaigns Manager at The Howard League. Preece's talk will include how to change prisons, what the current problems are regarding the prison system, how that point has been reached and then discuss how solutions can now be put in place.

Rob Preece commented: "I'm pleased to take part in this debate and it's great that LSBU have made the decision to look at the pressing issues affecting prisons today. The truth is that prisons around the country have continued to deteriorate and since Brexit, domestic concerns such as prison reform don't get the Government's attention as much as they used to."

Other panellists on the board include Jocelyn Hillman, the founder and CEO of charity Working Chance - which helps to place women with criminal convictions into jobs, Dr Chris Magill, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the School of Law and Social Sciences at LSBU and the lead for the LSBU's Crime and Justice Research Group.

Tajae Tyrell, a former LSBU student, who is a Criminologist and Senior Researcher, is also a panellist. She is currently working on a PhD about the rise of violence in UK prisons at the University of East London.

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