Does prison work?

University of Cambridge

To kickstart Season Four of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott talks to Alison Liebling, Nicola Padfield and Arnaud Philippe about the growing prison population, the prison experience, and the most effective ways to rehabilitate 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. This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features guest experts Prof Alison Liebling (University of Cambridge), Prof Nicola Padfield (University of Cambridge) and Prof Arnaud Philippe (University of Bristol, former IAST fellow). Season 4 Episode 1 transcript: https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/S04E01_Transcript.docx.pdf Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform: https://pod.fo/e/2716d2 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/. Follow us on Linkedin, Bluesky and X. With thanks to: Audio production by Steve Hankey Associate production by Stella Erker and Burcu Sevde Selvi 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. His last role was as a science correspondent covering the covid outbreak, but prior to that he was the transport correspondent reporting on new technologies such as driverless cars, major accidents and large infrastructure projects including HS2 and the expansion of Heathrow. Over the decades he also reported on the Iraq War and 9/11 as well as numerous UK general elections. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott Relevant links Auty, K. M., & Liebling, A. (2024). What is a ‘good enough’ prison? An empirical analysis of key thresholds using prison moral quality data. European Journal of Criminology, 21(5), 725-753. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708241227693 Chen, D. L., Cingl, L., Philippe, A., & Šoltés, M. (2024). Exploring inmates’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors: Implications for theories of crime. Working Paper Series, 779. ISSN 2788-0443. https://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp779.pdf