Sentencing: The Future of Incarceration and Rehabilitation

As the implications of the Sentencing Act 2026 start to unfold, public scrutiny once again falls onto the purpose and nature of imprisonment and punishment more generally. A litany of systems, implications and pressures have come into view; short-term sentences; earned early release; spiralling probation caseloads, chronic staff absence in the Pr*son estate, and a lack of prisoner support post-release (to name but a few) – this seminar will examine:

· The unanticipated consequences of the Sentencing Act for longer-term sentences

· It will consider alternatives to the orthodoxies of mainstream practices in prisons and communities such as therapeutic environments

· Examine some of the challenges involved in working in such extreme spaces, for both staff and for aims of rehabilitation and desistance

· Explore prisoner challenges beyond the gates - asking what supportive provision looks like?

Topics and speakers:

Therapeutic communities at HMP Grendon - Dr Jamie Bennett, Pr*son Contracts Group Director, HM Pr*son and Probation Service

The ‘loneliness’ of the long-term prisoner – Annette So, Chief Executive Officer,

“We Roar” – artworks in UK and US prisons – Sarah Hartley, National Creative Strategies Manager,

Relational ambiguities - female voluntary sector staff in male prisons – Emily Billington and Dr Anton Roberts

Out and about – co-designing community services – Dave Maguire, Chief Executive Officer,

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Manchester Met Research & Innovation