“Doom loop” - a damning description of the prison capacity crisis, delivered by the Lord Chancellor himself. From deporting foreign prisoners, to making cells out of office space, it seems everything has been considered but nothing is working to bring our prison population under control.

In this episode, Penelope and Rob are joined by Enver Solomon, CEO of Nacro, and Cassia Rowland, Associate Director with the Institute for Government, to discuss how we got here and what we must do to escape the cycle. They cover early release schemes, the increase in recalls to prisons, and proposals to find more prisons spaces. Finally, they ask the question haunting all prison reformers: why is it so difficult to reduce the prison population once and for all?

Enver Soloman

Read Nacro's proposals for a more proportionate approach to prison recall here: https://www.nacro.org.uk/resource/a-proportionate-recall-system/

Cassia Rowland

Find the Institute for Government's work on prisons here: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/our-work/topics/public-services/criminal-justice

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Suspects can be held in police custody for up to 24 hours - and sometimes longer. During this time, they may be questioned by police. But what happens when someone in custody has a mental health condition or is neurodivergent? Is police custody capable of recognising potential vulnerabilities and responding appropriately?

Penelope and Rob are joined by Dr Roxanna Dehaghani of Cardiff University and Rhona Friedman of Commons Legal to explore the experience of police custody, how it can cause or exacerbate harm, and what needs to change to make the process fairer and safer for vulnerable people.

Dr Roxanna Dehaghani

Find out more about Roxanna's research here: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/fatemi-dehaghanir

Rhona Friedman

Learn more about Rhona's practice here: https://www.commons.legal/

Further resources

All-Party Parliamentary Group report on police custody: https://futurejustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/APPGMiscarriagesofJustice_RecalimingCustodyastheFirstLineofDefence.pdf

Panorama investigation into police custody: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002k7k6

More information on the Baird inquiry into overuse of police custody: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/news-insight/the-baird-inquiry-into-overuse-of-police-custody/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.

Imagine spending longer in prison than you've been alive. For children handed a life sentence, this can be the reality.

Penelope and Rob are joined by Dr Susie Hulley, a research consultant who has led research into child life sentences, and Ryan, who was convicted to serve a minimum of 16 years aged 15, to discuss the experience of life sentences for children, policies supporting ever-longer minimum terms, and whether this extreme sentence is ever appropriate for children.

Further resources

Read Susie's work: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/default/files/u223/PSJ%20275%2C%20Child%20lifers.pdf

Hear from child lifers who took part in Susie's research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lGjITOJgxk

Learn more about JENGbA's campaign to abolish life sentences for children: https://www.thejusticegap.com/morally-indefensible-a-radical-new-campaign-aims-to-abolish-life-sentences-for-children/

Transform Justice

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TransformJust1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BlueSky: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@transformjustice.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠policy@transformjustice.org.uk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.