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Immigrants, AI and a lost sense of humanity

September 18, 2026 12:46 / Leave a comment

There have been some interesting and to be quite honest, quite scary pieces of news that have emerged over the last few weeks.

The more recent, concerns the risk to humanity from the unfettered development of AI and the recognition by several high-profile tech bosses that perhaps it’s time to put the brakes on.  It’s not worth discussing the reaction from some political quarters, you all know who I mean, so I won’t.  The point is this, humankind could theoretically and with increasingly likely odds, be wiped out by AI.  As one of the tech bosses explained, imagine setting AI the problem of solving climate change and global warming (The same person that states AI is not a problem, thinks global warming doesn’t exist either).  AI identifies the problem is caused by humans and decides the best way of solving the problem and saving the planet is to do away with humans. That is all very logical, but we would all agree, well most anyway, that the solution might be found in something a little less draconian.  This made me think, what would AI make of the financial problems faced by the NHS for instance?  Would it examine the burgeoning costs of the elderly? Perhaps there is a cut off point for their care, maybe this is tied into their usefulness to society. Horror, that we might be considering such things, but there is a logic to it and AI works on logic. However, it defies notions of humanity and the sanctity of life.  Once we start on that road, where do we stop, the disabled, the seriously ill, the intellectually challenged?  Uncontrolled use of AI logic without human emotion is starting to sound like well documented historical humanitarian nightmares.

Now you might think where do immigrants fit into this?

The recent news about the RNLI getting flak from far right wing activists for rescuing immigrants on a boat has certainly raised a few eyebrows.  I’m still trying to understand the logic of calling someone a traitor for doing what they are supposed to do, rescue people and I’m lost for words that so many people fall in behind this rhetoric. But for now, just assume that I go along with the ‘stop the boats’ mantra and believe that the immigrants coming into this country on boats cause mayhem and go on crime sprees and rape and pillage with no regard to the law and that the state is powerless to stop them.  We are all doomed.  But I have this little niggle in the back of my mind, is the problem not either, at the other side of the channel where they embark on their perilous journey or, at this side of the channel when they disembark?   A rather simplistic summation of a geopolitical problem but suffice to say for the sake of the argument, the problem is not in the channel itself other than a danger the immigrants present to themselves and shipping.  The RNLI are there to rescue people from the water and have been for a very long time.  What are they to do?  It would be inhumane to ignore people in the sea if they were in difficulties, it would be inhumane to simply watch people in a dangerous situation until they got into difficulties (wait until the boat sinks then try to rescue a few of them).  Even the hard of heart must surely want to save children and young people.  Turn them back I’ve heard said.  And just how should that be done? A group of volunteers trying to take desperate rescued people back to where they came from?  Perhaps we should employ the navy to do so and risk them all drowning (more far right-wing nonsense).  Where is the humanity in all of this? The RNLI crews are morally bound to do what they do, rescue people and bring them ashore safely.   Blocking a port so that immigrants cannot be transferred inland to a detention centre defies logic.  What are you going to do with them?  Drive them back into the sea? Turning on the RNLI and its volunteers seems as illogical as attacking the fire brigade at a fire.  I know, it has been known and beggars’ belief.

Would AI suggest that the problem is the RNLI? Logically that doesn’t seem to work unless of course you state that the RNLI’s remit is to save lives at sea providing, they are lives that are deemed worthy of saving, i.e., not immigrants with Black or brown skins.  

Where do we stop with this? A person injured in a collision on the road is only entitled to help from the emergency paramedics if they are entitled to be in this country? Sounds like we are going to need to carry around ID cards of some sort and woe betide if you have a foreign accent and have a darker skin shade.  You need to have your ID tattooed on your head just in case or maybe wear some form of badge.  

The rhetoric of the far right, regarding a perceived problem that, incidentally, has no easy solution, is to stir up racial hatred.  More reminiscent of historical humanitarian nightmares. 

Uncontrolled use of AI and uncontrolled right-wing rhetoric and action are not that different. Unless someone works out how to herd the sheep in a different direction, humanity is doomed.

L-R Nazi Propaganda, a Robot Head and a RNLI Tamar Class Lifeboat

Beyond the Price Tag: The Enduring Value of Higher Education

September 4, 2026 10:03 / Leave a comment

There is currently a growing public debate about the cost of higher education. At a time when the cost of living is widely recognised as a crisis, questions about whether university offers “value for money” have gained considerable momentum. Opinion polls, newspaper commentaries, and online discussions increasingly ask whether attending university is still worthwhile.

As a new cohort of students prepares to walk through the doors of universities across the country, it is perhaps the perfect time to reflect on the true value of higher education.

If there is an opportunity to understand that value, we must first consider the challenges universities have faced in recent years. The era of austerity was followed by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, global instability, and increasingly restrictive immigration policies across Europe, including the UK. Together, these developments have created significant pressures for universities and wider society alike.

These pressures have also affected the labour market. Graduate employment pathways that were once seen as relatively secure have become increasingly uncertain. For many years, the link between higher education and access to better employment opportunities was a central justification for the introduction of tuition fees. As economic conditions changed, however, questions emerged about whether universities could continue to maintain their relevance to the job market. Yet focusing solely on graduate outcomes risks overlooking much of what universities actually offer.

Throughout these challenging years, universities have experienced reductions in funding, financial pressures, and declining international student recruitment. Despite this, they have continued to provide high-quality education, support local economies, and, in many regions, remain among the largest employers. University communities enrich society through research, innovation, public engagement, and outreach programmes that support local people and communities. In many respects, universities serve as centres of learning that extend far beyond their campuses.

Yet this is not their greatest strength.

As a new generation of students enters higher education, regardless of their subject or institution, they become part of a community dedicated to learning, discovery, and personal development. While higher education is often viewed simply as the next stage of the education system, it is fundamentally a different experience.

University education is adult education. Its purpose is not merely to transfer knowledge but to develop independent learners. Students are encouraged to engage critically with ideas, to take ownership of their studies, and to develop their own educational identities. As they progress through their degrees, they begin to shape their own areas of expertise and specialism.

Learning at university is inherently investigative. Unlike many previous educational experiences, students have greater freedom to determine what they study and how they study it. They choose topics for assignments, identify areas of interest, and explore perspectives that matter to them. This process develops not only subject knowledge but also critical thinking, problem-solving, research capability, and intellectual confidence. These are skills that remain valuable long after graduation.

It would, however, be impossible to discuss the value of university without recognising its broader impact on those who attend. For many students, whether they are the first in their family to enter higher education or not, university becomes one of the most memorable periods of their lives. It is a transformative experience that they will reflect upon for years to come.

University offers a unique opportunity to encounter new ideas, engage with unfamiliar perspectives, and challenge previously held assumptions. It is a time when students test not only theories and concepts but also themselves. They discover strengths they did not know they possessed and develop resilience through overcoming challenges. Importantly, they do so in an environment designed to support learning, growth, and development. It is a place where mistakes become opportunities to learn rather than reasons to fail.

University is often described as a rite of passage, but it is far more than that. The relationships formed between students and academic staff, among fellow students, and between students, employers, and the wider community can have a lasting impact. Many students build friendships that endure for a lifetime. Others choose to volunteer, contribute to community projects, or gain valuable employment experience while studying.

These experiences cannot easily be measured.

How do we quantify the achievement of a student who spent years being told that a career in retail represented the limit of their potential, only to graduate confidently discussing complex ideas in their chosen field?

How do we measure the transformation of a student who arrived from school having been bullied, lacking confidence and unable to speak in public, yet delivers an eloquent dissertation presentation before graduation?

What value can be attached to the student who was repeatedly told they would amount to nothing, only to stand proudly in a graduation gown surrounded by family and friends?

Universities provide opportunities and belonging for people from all walks of life. Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, ethnic minority communities, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, immigrant and refugee backgrounds, and countless others find spaces where they are welcomed and encouraged to succeed. At its best, higher education is founded upon the principle that knowledge should be accessible and that potential should not be limited by circumstance.

For these reasons, and many more, the true value of higher education cannot be fully captured through metrics, rankings, salary data, or opinion polls. These measures may tell part of the story, but they cannot capture personal transformation, intellectual growth, confidence, belonging, or aspiration.

Most importantly, they cannot place a price tag on human potential.

So, to all of you crossing the threshold and joining a university this month, let me offer a warm welcome. You are about to begin a journey of self-discovery, growth, and learning. My colleagues and I look forward to guiding you through the wonderful world of knowledge.

“Welcome to higher education. Your journey starts here”.

Taking a short break….back soon

July 17, 2026 12:17 / Leave a comment

Lunch atop a Skyscraper

The academic year 25/26 will shortly come to an end with the last assessments submitted and graded. Here at the Thoughts From the Criminology Team we’re going to take a little break before we jump back into planning for the new academic year. Don’t worry, we’ll be back with lots of interesting entries from September and after all, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.

In the meantime, there’s plenty on the site to explore.

Enjoy your summer whatever you are up to!

The schizophrenia of hate: An illogical logic

July 10, 2026 10:00 / Leave a comment

The latest news regarding the online racist abuse aimed at certain Netherlands players, following the team’s premature exit from the world cup, probably comes as no surprise to most and feels like it is no longer all that extraordinary.  Sadly, it is almost normalised.  We’ve seen this online abuse multiple times before aimed at different players, be they Black or women or any other section of society that fits the perverse pervading ideology of the time.  Social media seems to have given bigots of all persuasions a voice.   What was restricted to being voiced within groups, perhaps in pubs or other such settings, is now not only being voiced, but in a controlled and targeted way, a way designed to cause hurt and harm, a vindictive, personalised way targeting individuals, whilst also having a far wider reach.   As with most crimes the causes and motives behind such hatred are often unclear.  There is however a perceived logic behind the hatred.  The Black footballers failed the nation the rest just didn’t do very well. The logic of hatred isn’t just aimed at sports stars; it is a cancer in every walk of life.  The Israeli actions in the middle east fuelling hatred of Jews.  The actions of individuals within the Asian community in parts of the UK involved in the grooming of children fuelling islamophobia and hatred of Asians.  The actions of some of the travelling community involved in unauthorised encampments and crime fuelling the hatred of Travellers and Gypsies.  The actions of Black asylum seekers involved in sexual offences fuelling the hatred of Black people and immigrants (a double hit there). And so, the list goes on, historical and contemporary evidence for why we should hate.  There is a logic to the hatred, there is evidence that can be pointed to, and there are politicians, here and abroad, and the news media, that happily point to and provide that evidence, seeing the fruitfulness of stirring up the so-called indigenous masses to their advantage.  Further evidence when those in authority tell us how it is. Of course, the hatred of these groups of people is not new, it can be seen in generations before us across the world, in some guise or another.  But that hatred, is reinforced by the contemporary evidence selectively presented and voiced by institutions that have a vested interest in doing so.  That’s the so-called logic of hatred.

And yet the people that display this hatred would happily support their football club/ nation if it is successful. The hatred is held in obeyance as the Black footballer thumps the ball into the opponent’s net.  The same people that hate might happily, without thought, accept medical treatment from the Jewish doctor, the Muslim dental surgeon, the Black Immigrant nurse. They are the first in the queue at the kebab shop buying a donner kebab from the settled asylum seeker originating from the Middle East.  Happy to consume an Indian or Chinese (food that is, not the person) served up by someone from Asia. They eat the vegetables and fruit picked by foreign labourers; nothing is shunned if it is to their personal advantage.  That’s the illogical schizophrenia.  There is for some an inbuilt underlying hatred of others, which defies logic.  There is for many a convenient scapegoat for the ills that may have befallen them.  It is the fault of the ‘other’, the Black, the Jew, the Muslim, the asylum seeker, not decades of social decline or governmental policy failure.  The failure that has led to low living standards, or the housing crisis or the collapse of NHS or social care or manufacturing or unemployment or education.  It is the fault of the ‘other’ and where else can that frustration be vented.  There is some perverse logic in hating the ‘other’ albeit that logic is somewhat illogical.

Images

L-R George Orwell’s ‘Two Minute Hate’ and the Stand Up To Racism March in London on 17/03/2018

JAY-Z’s Reasonable Doubt at Thirty

July 3, 2026 12:49 / Leave a comment

Source

Today I’m talking about all things Jay Z. Reasonable Doubt, his debut album, turned thirty on the 25th of June, and Roc Nation has spent the last week or so turning New York into one long tribute to it. Pop ups in Dumbo, a takeover of the old Bowery subway station, a limited-edition of JAŸ-Z30 library card to celebrate the album. As most of you do know that hip hop is one of the things I love outside of work, and that for me, it starts and ends with Tupac and Biggie, the two greatest to ever do it, full stop.

I can see my Gen Z students rolling their eyes before I’ve even finished the sentence, waiting to jump in with Drake or Kendrick Lamar again. Not being funny, but some things aren’t up for debate, Jay Z sits just below Biggie & Pac for me, and Reasonable Doubt is the reason why.

One of the nicest gifts I’ve ever had came from my friend Steph. She knew how much I love hip hop, so she got me the big book of Hip Hop. It’s not the sort of book you finish, really. You dip in and out of it, and there’s always something in there you missed the last time round. Evergreen, that one.

Unsurprisingly, while writing this piece I found myself back in the chapter on Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella Records. Reading it again reminded me just how extraordinary their story really was. How broke Jay Z, Dame Dash and Kareem Burke actually were when they started Roc-A-Fella, pressing up their own vinyl out the boot of a car because no major record company would touch them, the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, and all that jazz puts the whole album in a different light.

As someone who has spent much of his career studying crime, what has always fascinated me about the album is its honesty. Drug dealing is just the surface of it. Underneath is ambition, blocked opportunity, status, loyalty, and the sort of decisions people end up making when the straight road looks shut before they’ve even tried it.

Reasonable Doubt only got to number 23 on the Billboard 200 when it came out in 1996. Eighteen weeks on the chart, nothing spectacular by the standards of the time. It took years for people to properly understand what he’d made. And what he made, honestly, is one of the smartest debut albums hip hop has ever produced. The title alone shows you that. He’s borrowing the standard a magistrate/judge needs before it can sentence someone, and turning the whole record into his own defence, his own case file, laid out track by track. People often praise his lyricism, but I sometimes think that undersells what makes him extraordinary.

  • Plenty of rappers can rhyme. Jay constructs worlds. His writing is economical without ever feeling sparse. His metaphors unfold over multiple listens. His double and triple entendres have become the stuff of legend.

He could say more in sixteen bars than most artists manage in an entire album.

The features on that record still give me chills. Biggie turns up on Brooklyn’s Finest and it’s one of the great meetings of two people who both knew, somehow, that they were about to become big. Mary J Blige carries the hook on Can’t Knock the Hustle. Jaz O, Jay Z’s old mentor from the Marcy projects, shows up on Bring It On, which is its own quiet piece of history given how that relationship eventually soured. None of it sounds like a young artist borrowing credibility from bigger names. It sounds like a scene, people who’d known each other before any of them had a record deal.

Nobody was meant to get this record straight away. It took the slow route, the way things do when they turn out to be right rather than just popular for a minute. People are still reaching for it thirty years on, and that’s not nostalgia talking. It’s just that the story it tells about ambition and consequence hasn’t gone stale.

So yes, my Gen Z criminology students can keep trying to convince me that someone else deserves the title of greatest rapper alive.

Cool bro!

Then I’ll go home, pull Steph’s gift from the shelf, put on Reasonable Doubt, and remind myself why Jay-Z is, in my opinion, the greatest to ever pick up a mic who’s still with us.

And no… I’m still not getting into the Dr Dre and Rakim argument today, so go away.

Without solidarity there is no social movement: beyond the rainbow

June 26, 2026 10:47 / Leave a comment

As this month draws to a close, it is worth remembering that for several years now June has been recognised as Pride Month. It is a significant date in the calendar for the LGBTQ+ community both nationally and internationally. Arguably, it is now a cultural event marked by celebrations and activities in towns and cities across the world. On the surface, it may not appear to be a criminological talking point. However, that changes when we consider the origins of Pride itself.

It is widely acknowledged that Pride has its roots in the Stonewall Riots of June 1969. At the time, a marginalised community, alongside other groups campaigning for equality, raised concerns that were fundamentally about civil and human rights. They made a stand against discrimination and criminalisation. Respect and decriminalisation were among the key issues, accompanied by broader demands for equal rights, including the recognition of same-sex relationships and the right to family life. The birth of Pride, therefore, is firmly rooted in activism, civil rights, and the struggle for visibility.

During the 1970s, Pride was unapologetically political, highlighting the inequalities and prejudices faced by the LGBTQ+ community, many of which stemmed directly from the criminalisation of homosexual acts. In the UK, calls for reform had already begun to gain momentum. Following the Wolfenden Report (1957), homosexual acts between consenting men over the age of 21 were decriminalised in England and Wales in 1967. Scotland followed in 1980 and Northern Ireland in 1982. While decriminalisation ended the prosecution of consenting adults, the struggle for equality was far from over.

In 1988, the UK government introduced Section 28 of the Local Government Act, which prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” through teaching or published materials. It became clear that Pride remained an essential mechanism for drawing attention to injustice and actively protesting against it. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Pride was as much a political demonstration as it was a celebration of visibility and community. Campaigns focused on issues such as repealing Section 28, equalising the age of consent, and achieving legal recognition for same-sex relationships. Equality in the age of consent was eventually achieved in England, Wales, and Scotland in 2001 and in Northern Ireland in 2008. Section 28 was repealed in 2003 in England and Wales, having already been repealed in Scotland in 2000. Civil partnerships came into effect in 2005, and same-sex marriage was legalised in 2014, with the first marriages taking place in 2014 in England, Wales, and Scotland and in 2020 in Northern Ireland. For many people outside the LGBTQ+ community, these milestones appeared to signal the end of the movement’s activism.

Far from it.

Since the early 2000s, there has been a growing political focus on, and often hostility towards, members of the trans community. Questions surrounding access to public facilities, pronoun use, healthcare, and participation in sport have become central features of what is often described as the “culture wars”. It is interesting to observe the shift in language from civil rights to culture, as this change obscures the most important aspect of these debates. At their core, these are questions about human rights, dignity, and equal treatment.

Regrettably, some members of the LGBTQ+ community have distanced themselves from this struggle, arguing that full equality has already been achieved. To them, and to many others, I would simply point out that the movement born at Stonewall was led in significant part by trans women and gender-nonconforming individuals whose determination to be visible and respected helped ignite a global movement. Their courage challenged discrimination and injustice. They stood at the forefront of a community demanding recognition and dignity; their mascara countered discrimination and their lipstick was their war paint to fight injustice.  Now that their rights are increasingly questioned and, in some cases, curtailed, the wider community should stand alongside them. After all, without solidarity there can be no social movement.

Many people today regard Pride as a relic of late twentieth-century activism that has lost its political relevance. In this view, it has become little more than a party or an excuse for performative displays. Such perspectives overlook a fundamental truth: human rights are rarely given freely, particularly to those who experience discrimination. They are fought for, defended, and maintained through constant vigilance because rights can be eroded as easily as they are won.

Even within the UK, some cities and towns continue to struggle to finance Pride events due to local political opposition or dwindling institutional support. Internationally, Pride marches are increasingly met with counter-protests framed around “family values”, while LGBTQ+ communities in a number of countries face direct and indirect attacks on their rights and freedoms. Several countries have restricted or banned Pride events altogether, while others have altered their legal frameworks in ways that make public expressions of LGBTQ+ identity increasingly difficult or risky. Furthermore, homosexuality remains criminalised in dozens of countries worldwide, with penalties ranging from imprisonment to, in some cases, far harsher punishments.

In many ways, the legal changes securing LGBTQ+ rights in the UK represent the fulfilment of decades of activism, mobilisation, and collective struggle. They are significant achievements and should be celebrated. Yet what matters most is what comes next. Progress is never guaranteed.

As the flags are taken down and the celebrations come to an end, as trans rights continue to be contested, and as democratic societies increasingly grapple with intolerance and authoritarian tendencies, perhaps it is time to remember the spirit that gave birth to Pride. Perhaps it is time, once again, to put on our lipstick and continue the struggle for those whose voices have too often been silenced.

And to the colleague who once asked me why the “L” comes first in the community’s acronym: it is there, in part, because during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, many lesbians stepped forward when others would not. They cared for gay men who were dying, held their hands when families and institutions turned away, and demonstrated a profound humanity in the face of fear and stigma. It is that humanity that we recognise, honour, and celebrate.

Images

L-R Sydney Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial and Corby Pride

A treasure found in a Library…

June 19, 2026 10:05 / Leave a comment

Source: Tony Morris

Back in May, during the assessment period, where campus, whilst still abuzz, had begun to quiet down, I walked through the library looking for some print sources for some summer reading and preparation for the next academic year. The Library at UON, for those who are unfamiliar, is situated on the second floor of the Learning Hub. On this particular Wednesday, sunlight was beaming in through the glass sides, and the books shone in a magical light. The gentle buzz of students studying/revising, the sunshine warming the shelves, the books glistening away… it was quite a lovely moment. And as I stopped to reflect on the beauty of the library in that moment, my eye caught one book in particular. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton.

Those of you who have read previous blogs, might remember that my partner and I had 2 house bunnies for almost 11 years (RIP Snuggles and Toffee). And because of these two precious little fluff balls, we adored all things bunny rabbit (mugs, pictures, pens, cushions, glasses, clothes, towels… the list goes on). Dalton’s (2024) Raising Hare, has on the front cover a side profile of a Hare. Now whilst very different to a bunny (especially a domestic one like our two fluff balls), the long ears, sharp eyes and cute button nose are quite similar hence the book stood out. I had no idea what the book would be about, other than presuming a hare – and I was right, and I picked the book purely because on this day the cover stood out. One of the beauties of libraries and books on show: they really do catch the reader’s eye and draw you in. Now, it might just be me, but when a cover catches your eye it sort of feels like the book is speaking to you. Could be a mystical force or just good advertising/publishing: either way it worked a treat this time around!

Rasing Hare is a book which takes place during Lockdown where a woman who works very long hours in the hustle and bustle of London, goes back to her remote home in the countryside (surrounded by fields, wildlife and tranquillity) and awaits the country attempting to return to ‘normal’. On one of her walks, during a harsh winter evening she stumbles across a leveret (baby hare), and she takes the leveret home to feed and shelter it. What follows is a beautiful story of mistakes, honesty, respect and wonder at the natural world. The book is based on real-events, and the reflection offered throughout is a thought-provoking account of how humans presume they rule the world (we really are quite an entitled species in the grand scheme of things). Dalton (2024) doesn’t state this, this is simply my reflection having read and learned about hares, their habits, skills and the predators (including humans) they have to out manoeuvre in order to survive quite a hazardous life. The book was charming and I learned a lot about hares, but also about how I take nature (plants and animals) for granted, and often do not consider my impact on the world outside of the human species.

I guess, this blog is a recommendation to read Dalton’s (2024) Raising Hare, but also a thank you to the Library Staff at UON for placing the book so perfectly that it caught my eye. It was very different to what I would usually read, but it has really made me stop and think. I wonder if it will do the same for others….

Reference:

Dalton, C. (2024) Raising Hare. Edinburgh: Canongate Books ltd

Let’s pretend to care*

June 12, 2026 10:00 / Leave a comment

Source

As regular readers will now I often blog about violence, both institutional and interpersonal, often with a focus on girls and women. In my most recent entry focused on Violence Against Women and Girls [VAWG], I created a male character, Jimmy who I followed from birth to adulthood. This was fictional, but as I noted at the time, what I described is oh too familiar to many women and girls.

Usually, people don’t appear to care about the women and girls subjected to sexism, misogyny and violence of all kinds. You’ve only got to look at newspaper headlines and the commentary below to know that SHE is probably making it up, making mountains out of molehills, attention seeking, after all why would any man be interested in HER! It’s bound to be lies, you can’t say anything these days without someone taking offence, false allegations to blackmail some poor chap, ruining boys and men’s lives, no wonder they’re attracted to the likes of Andrew Tate (who despite some issues, apparently still manages to talk some sense, blah blah blah)! Note that this regular commentary comes from men and women alike…

Organisers and campaigns such as Fixed It, This Ends Now, #UseYourRedPen, Fix That |Headline and Hacked Off strive to rewrite misogynistic headlines, to argue again sexist advertisements, to complain about the portrayal of women in the media. Media, where women are simply appendages to men, or objectified as body parts to be gawped at, or their victimisation is less interesting than the men who harm them. These are worthy campaigns, well-meaning and designed to bring about positive change, but the deluge just keeps coming and coming If you don’t believe me, here’s a couple of recent examples: the world champion and Olympian Simone Biles is taken seriously ill, but is she central to the news report? No, she is described as a ‘NFL wife‘ as if her marital status mattered more than her identity. Another example, closer to home, Kingston council, in an equalities report wrote that electric bikes ‘‘may increase women’s access to cycling and physical activity by making it easier for women to meet their traditional domestic responsibilities, as well as stay looking “nice” on a bike’. Or what about the Northampton councillor who said that ‘some women should never have left the kitchen’. Half hearted apologies inevitably follow, no offence was meant, it’s been taken out of context, I will do much better, urging women to take pity on their plight. Nevertheless the constant flood of misogyny continues unabated.

This misogynistic nonsense runs throughout society unnoticed and unquestioned. Even when we pretend to take it seriously, for example, the government’s “commitment” to halve VAWG in a decade is vague and confused. As the Women’s Social and Political Union [WSPU] t made clear over a century ago, it is “deeds not words” that change the world. But it appears that many. in our society simply have no idea of the problems faced by girls and women, or if they do, they simply don’t care.

That is until very recently, when three teenage boys escaped custodial sentences despite convictions for the rape of two teenage girls. Suddenly, everyone has a view, the law is too lenient, the judge is out of touch, something must be done etc etc etc. On the surface, all of this interest is very laudable, but will anything change?

What message does this send to boys? They’re untouchable, their only mistake was in getting caught. And in getting caught, there is plenty of support to speak eloquently on the impact of their neurodiversities, their anxieties, their learning challenges, their friendship group. As the judge put it: these young boys ‘had low intelligence’, and a ‘limited understanding of consent’ adding that ‘peer pressure played a large part in what went on’. He praised the boys for their engagement with the CJS throughout the process, noting that ‘I think of you as very young and none of you have been in any big trouble before’. As @5teveh noted last week, the focus is on support, rehabilitation, an opportunity to reintegrate with society.

But what of the other children in the case, what message does this send to girls? They’re expendable, they should put up and shut up. No mention of their challenges, no recognition of what it took for those girls to report the violences unleashed upon them. No opportunities for support, other than that provided by woefully underfunded charities, no interest in their neurological development, their anxieties. No opportunities for reintegration, but another opportunity to let them know that they are what Simone de Beauvoir (1949) titled The Second Sex, their needs continually subjugated and secondary to those of men and boys.

We created and continue to create the conditions where violence against women and girls is normalised, part and parcel of British society. We might think we care deeply about the girls who were raped, but that care doesn’t extend to the 1. 9 million women who were the victims of rape or attempted rape, recorded in the Crime Survey for England and Wales [CSEW]. Neither does that care extend to the 739,000 women subjected to sexual abuse recorded in the same survey. It doesn’t even seem to extend to victims of femicide such as those recorded in the Femicide Census. Even when we pretend to care, like former minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, MP Jess Phillips, the language is all wrong, the victims in the case above are children, not as she described ‘young women‘. By describing them using adult terms, we automatically attribute greater responsibility to the daughters and not the sons. In doing so we show an understanding of childhood vulnerabilities for the boys, but not the girls.

If we really care, we have to consider what kind of society accepts that over 50% of its population are worth less?

*The kind of problems identified above are not unique to VAWG. Similar issues are apparent in relation to race, ethnicity and immigration but I need to leave that for another day.

The demise of the punitive state – you can’t have your cake and eat it

June 5, 2026 10:24 / 1 Comment on The demise of the punitive state – you can’t have your cake and eat it

The sentences passed down to three teenagers for serious sexual offences and the subsequent furore over the perceived leniency hit the headlines recently.  I think I should add right now this blog is not intended to pass judgement, pardon the pun, on the sentencing, lenient or not, nor is it intended to convey my feelings on that particular case.  We are after all only provided with information by the press, who quite frankly have a field day when they think there’s a story to be had.  My take on the political machinations and other commentary is that it is premature and for the most part self-serving.  There is a judicial process and that should have ben allowed to take place before everyone jumped on the bandwagon of indignation and finger pointing.

I think I probably digressed a little.  The purpose of the blog is merely to point out that there are a number of issues within the criminal justice system that we as a society, have never managed to resolve.  Politicians kick the criminal justice football around dependent on the fickleness of the public whilst at the same time trying to manage an administrative and financial burden.  The prison estate costs money, punitive attitudes towards offending is costly when it leads to custodial sentences.  Given the public finances, there is a sound argument to utilise non-custodial sentences as much as possible.   There is an abundance of academic literature that points to the fact that prison does not work (include in that youth custody).  There is an abundance of literature that suggests that criminalising young people severely diminishes their chances in life and leads to reoffending.  So many criminologists will point to the futility of prisons and even advocate complete abolition.  Given the recent prison over crowding crisis, it is little wonder that the Justice Secretary called for a reduction in custodial sentences.  Nothing new there though, they do that these politicians from time to time, dependent on the crisis and the public mood.  Whipped up by the media of course.  The whole system is in chaos and that chaos impacts real people, defendants, offenders, victims and a myriad of other people, rarely considered.  What of family, friends and those people involved in the cases in one way or another.

What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? If the purpose is justice, what is justice and can it really be achieved? Does justice consider the impact of the crime on the victim or on the offender or both? Should what happens to the offender really matter or matter more than the victim’s feelings?  I wonder how many decisions are made, not on the basis of what is right, but on what is viewed as administratively convenient and affordable.    How does the system satisfy the victim and the public and at the same time give offenders the best opportunity to turn their lives around?  Why have prisons?  Is the purpose punishment, retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, public protection or something else?  To be honest, I don’t think we really know.  If you are a victim of crime, then you may have a particular view in the aftermath of the crime. That view may or may not change over time.  You might suggest it all depends on the crime, but then what crime is more important, more serious, more deserving of attention?  We ask our judiciary, to make judgements about this, often with their hands tied by political motive and public opinion.  Go one way, and you’ll have the abolitionists, anti-custodial mob lamenting the rise in the prison population, the punitive society and penal politics.  Go the other way and the mob will be baying for your blood, life should mean life, not 12 years, hard labour, throw away the key, bring back capital punishment. 

I don’t know the answer, but I don’t suppose that anyone will be opposing a custodial sentence for the teenage boys.  No one will be brave enough to put their head above the parapet. There are too many interested parties ready to take a pot shot and public opinion, whatever that is, will be brought to bear.  What was it John Stewart Mill said, ‘Beware the tyranny of the majority’.  I know one thing; you can’t on the one hand be in the abolitionist camp and then on the other call for a review of the sentences meted out because you find the crime committed so appalling.  I really don’t think you can have your cake and eat it.

Just for the record, given the nature of the offence, I really don’t think the key should ever be found.

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L-R HMP Wormwood Scrubs and a delightful cake

Owning Success

May 29, 2026 11:30 / Leave a comment

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Having been posed the question about what success might look like for students, I pondered for a few days trying to conjure up an appropriate answer.   You might think the answer is simple, after all the Oxford Dictionary defines ‘success’ as ‘The achievement of a desired result or outcome; the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.’   But what is that desired result or outcome?  For students and many others, I would suggest that the simple answer that comes readily to mind is a good degree.

Some will have looked beyond this perhaps suggesting that a desired result would be a good degree leading to a good job.  But such statements feel a little too simple, what is a good degree and what is a good job?  If we were to stick with generally accepted definitions, then a good degree is one where a student obtains a first or a 2:1and a good job is one that is defined as a graduate job.  Such definitions though serve to devalue both the achievements of many students and of the jobs that students take up.  

Students are all different, come from diverse backgrounds and deal with a plethora of social, economic and personal circumstances.  Achievement or what we might deem as success is only truly measured by taking these multiple, often hidden, facets of a student’s life into account.  Several of our students find work after university in organisations where the class of degree has little relevance, but the work makes a real difference to society; work in charitable organisations come to mind.  What many of these students have demonstrated is that through their studies and engagement with their course they have become able to understand the world through a different, far more critical lens.  They can show confidence, have conviction, argue their case, they can provide leadership where it is needed and above all they are able to show empathy, something sadly lacking in contemporary society.  And that to me is real success.  I

t is not what you can spout out parrot fashion from a book, not an AI generated essay; it is when the light comes on and a student can see what they did not see before, they attempt what they would not attempt before.  Success is part of a journey, but one where students have knowledge and skills to navigate to where they, and they alone, want to be.  Success is not what others define for you, success is whatever you decide it should be.       

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