Our work is diverse and broad, covering sentencing for both youths and adults from out of court disposals through to release from custody and post-release conditions. We act as a hub for a growing network of researchers active in this field of work, commissioning, and co-ordinating original and experimental research.
Delivery of evidence-led, ethical, efficient and effective sentencing practices.
Inform decision making and improve awareness and understanding of sentencing through evidence-led research working in collaboration with experts in the field.
The Sentencing Academy has a range of events taking place this year. Click below to register for our up and coming events.
info@sentencingacademy.org.uk
Bentham House
4-8 Endsleigh Gardens
London
WC1H OEG
Julian V. Roberts is a Professor of Criminology in the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford and former member of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales (2009-2018).
He was an advisor to the American Law Institute Model Penal Code Sentencing Project and has been a Visiting Professor at: the Faculty of Law, University of Ferrara; Haifa Global Law School; School of Law, Kings College; the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge; the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto; the School of Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven and the Department of Criminology, Université Libre de Bruxelles. His research and teaching interests include: Sentencing; Public Opinion; and the Criminal Process.
Julian V. Roberts is a Professor of Criminology in the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford and former member of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales (2009-2018).
He was an advisor to the American Law Institute Model Penal Code Sentencing Project and has been a Visiting Professor at: the Faculty of Law, University of Ferrara; Haifa Global Law School; School of Law, Kings College; the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge; the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto; the School of Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven and the Department of Criminology, Université Libre de Bruxelles. His research and teaching interests include: Sentencing; Public Opinion; and the Criminal Process.
Before joining the Sentencing Academy, Jon held a variety of teaching positions between 2011-19 at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, where he primarily taught courses on criminal justice.
He was awarded his PhD by the same institution in 2014, with a thesis examining the evolution of sentencing for murder in England and Wales.
Before joining the Sentencing Academy, Jon held a variety of teaching positions between 2011-19 at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, where he primarily taught courses on criminal justice.
He was awarded his PhD by the same institution in 2014, with a thesis examining the evolution of sentencing for murder in England and Wales.
Sarah has worked for over 27 years in senior positions within social housing and the charitable sector across the North East and Yorkshire.
Prior to joining The Sentencing Academy she was CEO for almost seven years of an outreach and prevention charity in Teesside where she was a passionate ambassador for social change and access to justice for some of the most marginalised and discriminated women, families and young people in the region.
Sarah has worked for over 27 years in senior positions within social housing and the charitable sector across the North East and Yorkshire.
Prior to joining The Sentencing Academy she was CEO for almost seven years of an outreach and prevention charity in Teesside where she was a passionate ambassador for social change and access to justice for some of the most marginalised and discriminated women, families and young people in the region.
Cynthia has worked in the not-for-profit sector for regional, national, and international charities for almost 20 years and she has been a magistrate since 2008 in the adult courts.
Cynthia leads on cultivating relationships between The Sentencing Academy and the magistracy and voluntary organizations.
Cynthia has worked in the not-for-profit sector for regional, national, and international charities for almost 20 years and she has been a magistrate since 2008 in the adult courts.
Cynthia leads on cultivating relationships between The Sentencing Academy and the magistracy and voluntary organizations.
Gavin held a Chair in Criminal Justice Policy at De Montfort University, Leicester from 2012 until 2022. In 2016, he was Visiting Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.
His scholarship includes the following books: Minority Ethnic Prisoners and the COVID-19 Lockdown: Issues, Impacts and Implications (with Avril Brandon, 2022); Criminal Justice and the Pursuit of Truth (with Tim Hillier, 2021); Blamestorming, Blamemongers and Scapegoats: Allocating Blame in the Criminal Justice Process (with Tim Hillier, 2015); Alcohol and Crime (2006); Crime and Conflict in the Countryside (edited with Susan R. Moody, 1999); and Diversion in the Criminal Justice Process (with Christopher Harding, 1998).
Gavin held a Chair in Criminal Justice Policy at De Montfort University, Leicester from 2012 until 2022. In 2016, he was Visiting Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.
His scholarship includes the following books: Minority Ethnic Prisoners and the COVID-19 Lockdown: Issues, Impacts and Implications (with Avril Brandon, 2022); Criminal Justice and the Pursuit of Truth (with Tim Hillier, 2021); Blamestorming, Blamemongers and Scapegoats: Allocating Blame in the Criminal Justice Process (with Tim Hillier, 2015); Alcohol and Crime (2006); Crime and Conflict in the Countryside (edited with Susan R. Moody, 1999); and Diversion in the Criminal Justice Process (with Christopher Harding, 1998).
Harry Grindle is a current postgraduate student in the Criminology and Criminal Justice MSc programme at the University of Oxford. He holds a BS in Psychology from Yale University, where he focused on psycho-legal and socio-legal research. He has previously worked with the US-based non-profit The Remedy Project, the Mechanisms of Disinhibition Laboratory and the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative. He intends to write his master’s dissertation on the intersection of sentencing, public opinion and criminal justice reform.
Lewis is currently a Crown Court Caseworker at a criminal defence firm in Manchester, where he manages between 20-30 cases at a time covering offences including murder, attempted murder, firearms offences, sexual offences, and dishonesty offences. He deals with private and legally aided clients and provides pre-charge engagement when appropriate.
During his Masters and Bar Professional Training Course, Lewis volunteered at Support Through Court in Manchester, providing emotional and practical support to litigants in person, dealing with predominantly Civil and Family matters. During this time, he also volunteered at Street Law, presenting to sixth form college students about the legal profession with a view to encouraging more students to consider a career in Law.
Throughout his studies, Lewis also worked in retail at John Lewis & Partners.
Georgia-Mae is a Trainee Legal Advisor at the Thames and Stratford Magistrates’ Courts. Previously, she was employed as a Paralegal and then the Legal Triage Officer at Suffolk Law Centre where she specialised in advising vulnerable people.
Simultaneously, she was the Community Projects Officer at the Ipswich and Suffolk Council of Racial Equality where she evaluated Suffolk Police’s use of stop and search at public meetings and worked with prisoners, healthcare professionals, and politicians. During the Bar Professional Training Course, she volunteered for organisations providing information to prisoners and unrepresented individuals about the law and rehabilitation.
Additionally, whilst studying at university, she worked in politics and retail.
Mike Hough is an Emeritus Professor at Birkbeck, University of London and a member of the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), which he founded and directed until his retirement in 2016.
The European Society of Criminology awarded him the 2020 ESC European Criminology Award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to European criminology, and the British Society of Criminology awarded him its 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award.
Mike Hough is an Emeritus Professor at Birkbeck, University of London and a member of the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), which he founded and directed until his retirement in 2016.
The European Society of Criminology awarded him the 2020 ESC European Criminology Award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to European criminology, and the British Society of Criminology awarded him its 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award.
Beth Currie is the Senior Researcher for Alex Cunningham MP, the Shadow Minister for Courts and Sentencing.
She previously worked in other parliamentary offices and in the press office at the Crown Prosecution Service focussing on their media response to violence against women and girls.
Beth Currie is the Senior Researcher for Alex Cunningham MP, the Shadow Minister for Courts and Sentencing.
She previously worked in other parliamentary offices and in the press office at the Crown Prosecution Service focussing on their media response to violence against women and girls.
Gregor Donaldson is currently a judicial clerk at the Royal Courts of Justice, having recently acquired a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) from BPP University.
He has worked in public affairs, communications and journalism, and was previously employed by the UK Department for Health and Social Care and the World Health Organization during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Mercy Corps Nigeria during the Boko Haram displacement crisis. He completed his undergraduate degree in history at the University of Edinburgh before undertaking graduate study at Cambridge and Yale universities.
Gregor Donaldson is currently a judicial clerk at the Royal Courts of Justice, having recently acquired a Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) from BPP University.
He has worked in public affairs, communications and journalism, and was previously employed by the UK Department for Health and Social Care and the World Health Organization during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Mercy Corps Nigeria during the Boko Haram displacement crisis. He completed his undergraduate degree in history at the University of Edinburgh before undertaking graduate study at Cambridge and Yale universities.
Orla Slattery is a lecturer at Nottingham Law School, where she teaches criminal law and practice on both undergraduate and professional courses.
Orla previously worked as an in house solicitor providing advice to police forces. Orla also worked as a criminal defence duty solicitor, providing advice and representing clients at the police station, magistrates and crown court.
Orla Slattery is a lecturer at Nottingham Law School, where she teaches criminal law and practice on both undergraduate and professional courses.
Orla previously worked as an in house solicitor providing advice to police forces. Orla also worked as a criminal defence duty solicitor, providing advice and representing clients at the police station, magistrates and crown court.
Anna was a Kalisher intern at the Sentencing Academy between October 2021 and May 2022. She is a law graduate and has an MA in Legal and Political Theory from UCL. Anna is currently Training & Casework Coordinator at the death penalty charity, Amicus ALJ.
She completed a placement in Texas in 2020 working on state and federal habeas appeals in capital cases and has experience in civil and criminal pro bono work. She is starting criminal pupillage at QEB Hollis Whiteman in September 2023 after being called to the Bar in 2021.
Anna was a Kalisher intern at the Sentencing Academy between October 2021 and May 2022. She is a law graduate and has an MA in Legal and Political Theory from UCL. Anna is currently Training & Casework Coordinator at the death penalty charity, Amicus ALJ.
She completed a placement in Texas in 2020 working on state and federal habeas appeals in capital cases and has experience in civil and criminal pro bono work. She is starting criminal pupillage at QEB Hollis Whiteman in September 2023 after being called to the Bar in 2021.
Peter Hungerford-Welch is a Professor Law at The City Law School, City, University of London. His past and present teaching includes modules on the Bar Vocational Studies programme (the BVS) and the Master of Laws (LLM) programme, and supervision of dissertations on those programmes. He is a contributor to Blackstone’s Criminal Practice.
His other major published work is Criminal Litigation and Sentencing (Routledge). He is a regular contributor to the Criminal Law Review and is the Cases Editor for that journal. He is an academic member of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2003.
Peter Hungerford-Welch is a Professor Law at The City Law School, City, University of London. His past and present teaching includes modules on the Bar Vocational Studies programme (the BVS) and the Master of Laws (LLM) programme, and supervision of dissertations on those programmes. He is a contributor to Blackstone’s Criminal Practice.
His other major published work is Criminal Litigation and Sentencing (Routledge). He is a regular contributor to the Criminal Law Review and is the Cases Editor for that journal. He is an academic member of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee. He has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2003.