Sophie Gregory

Course Director - Criminology, Policing & Investigation, and Security Studies
- Email:
- Sophie.Gregory@bcu.ac.uk
- Phone:
- +44 (0)121 202 4674
Sophie graduated in 2011 with a First Class Honours Degree in Criminology. She was then awarded the Howard League Bursary, from the charitable penal reform organisation, to study towards her Master鈥檚 in Criminology and has been working in the Department of Criminology and Sociology at 探花直播 since 2012.听
Sophie鈥檚 teaching is informed by her work and research in prison and the penal voluntary sector. 听She is the service evaluator for The New Bridge Foundation, a national charity which helps people with convictions to live positive lives in prison and the community.听 Sophie has volunteered as a befriender with the organisation for over a decade and chairs a monthly support group. She is also passionate about the use of arts in the criminal justice system and is a Trustee of The Circle Players, an award winning registered theatrical charity.
Current Activity
New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report
Based on responses from 153 prisoners and 67 volunteers, this report concluded that the befriending scheme has promoted a number of positives outcomes. In relation to offenders the dominant ones were:
Increased motivation to re-establish contacts with those in the community, including family, friends and those working within support organisations
- Improved self-esteem and confidence
- The opportunity to challenge their thinking about criminal behaviour
- More positive thinking about their current and future lives
- A move towards a more positive sense of personal identity
These outcomes indicate that long-term befriending of prisoners helps them to work towards successful re-integration into the community and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
Promoting empathy development with the 鈥渄amaged, disturbed and dangerous鈥.
A snapshot study to examine the empathy levels of prisoners at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community.
This snapshot study used quantitative methods of enquiry by drawing from questionnaires administered to 70 male prisoners incarcerated at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community, a Category B security prison in Buckinghamshire. Empathy was measured using the revised Empathy Quotient questionnaire. Results indicated a statistically significant correlation between time spent at Grendon and empathy levels. Although cause and effect could not be determined, the results provide evidence to suggest that Grendon is effective in inducing empathic ability.
Areas of Expertise
- Long-term prison sentences
- Family ties and prison听visitations
- The听ageing听prison听population
- Resettlement
- Restorative justice
- Arts in criminal justice
- Reflective practice
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 探花直播
- Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice, 探花直播
- MA Criminology, 探花直播, Distinction
- Dissertation: Promoting empathy development with the 鈥渄amaged, disturbed and dangerous鈥.听 A snapshot study to examine the empathy levels of prisoners at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community.
- BA (Hons) Criminology, 探花直播, First Class
- Dissertation: An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove: Referral Orders in Theory and Practice.
Memberships
- Fellow, Higher Education Academy
Teaching
Sophie teaches undergraduate and postgraduate Criminology students on the following modules:
- Prisons and Punishment
- Prison and the Therapeutic Community
- Working in Criminal Justice
- Placement
Alongside Sophie鈥檚 taught modules she has also set up 探花直播鈥檚 Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme. After completing her US Inside-Out training at Graterford maximum security prison in Philadelphia in 2018 she established the 探花直播 programme in partnership with HMP Oakwood. The twelve-week course provides a life-altering experience that allows students to contextualise and rethink what they have learned in the classroom, gaining insights that will help them pursue work creating an effective, humane criminal justice system.
Research
Sophie鈥檚 current research activities include:
- A collaborative research project with Flicker Productions based on the latest Channel 4 series, 鈥楲ife After Lock-Up鈥, a three-part observational documentary which followed the journeys of prison leavers over a one-year period as they navigated re-entry into society.听 Sophie is analysing data from 100 people who applied to the programme, from youth offender institutions and prisons across England and Wales. The research takes an in-depth look into the first-hand experiences of resettlement following a prison sentence, drawing on themes of addiction, debt, accommodation, employment, and social support. Findings from the research will be used to offer practical recommendations for resettlement support.
- An annual evaluation of the befriending service by The New Bridge Foundation, a charitable organisation who support people in prison through letters and prison visits. Sophie reviews the experience of people supported by New Bridge and considers ways to improve the befriending service. Around 200 incarcerated individuals participate in the evaluation each year. The final report is sent direct to 80 Prison Governors.
- A rolling evaluation of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme in a partnership between 探花直播 and HMP Oakwood.听 Inside-Out is an educational programme with an innovative pedagogical approach tailored to effectively facilitate dialogue across difference. 听The programme brings "outside" students - postgraduates, particularly those pursuing careers in criminal justice and related fields - together with "inside" students - incarcerated men and women - to study as peers behind prison walls. 听The evaluation explores the outcomes for both inside and outside students, as well as the challenges of implementing a university-prison partnership.
Publications
Rowe, S. (2019)听New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2018.听London: New Bridge.
Rowe, S. (2019) Prisons are now the largest provider of residential care for older men in England and Wales. In: Treadwell, J. and Lynes, A. eds. 50 facts everyone should know about crime and punishment in Britain. Bristol: Policy Press.
Rowe, S. and Kennedy, M. (2018)听New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2017.听London: New Bridge
Rowe, S. Kennedy, K. Akhtar, S. Williams, B. and Williams, K. (2018) The Blind Truth: exposing barriers to learning with a vision impairment [video] Available through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu7QhgYmadw
Iron by The Circle Players (2018) Directed by Sophie Grace Rowe. Aldridge Youth Theatre, 14-17 February.
Rowe, S. (2018) 5 Minutes in Heaven with a Criminologist[podcast] Interviewed by Melindy Brown, January 2018. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/birmingham-city-university/5-minutes-in-heaven-with-a-criminologist-sophie-rowe
MacDonald, M.,听Williams, J., Rowe, S., Brown, B. and Kane, D. (2017)听The Restorative Justice Project: Evaluation of Restorative Justice Conferences.听听探花直播: West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
Rowe, S. (2017)听New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2016.听London: New Bridge.
The H Word [short film] Directed by Sophie Grace Rowe. Performative Criminology, England, 2017. 10 mins. Available through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX0jpH-glDY
Rowe, S., Kennedy, M., Balach-Warman, D. and Brookes, M. (2016)听An analysis of the needs of Grendon graduates.听Buckinghamshire:听The Friends of Grendon Trust.
The Hidden Impact of Crime by Performative Criminology (2016) Directed by Sophie Grace Rowe. 探花直播 Drama Studio, 14-15 April.
Brookes, M., Wilson, D., Yardley, E., Rahman, M. and Rowe, S. (2015) Faceless: High Profile Murders and Public Recognition,听Crime, Media, Culture, 11(1), pp.61-76.
McDonald, I., Mayouf, M., Rowe, S., Charles, RA., Sultan, F., Patel, K., Forkert, K. and Ochonogor, K. (2015) The development of a postgraduate research community: a response to the needs of postgraduate researchers at 探花直播,听Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 19(3), pp.96-101.
Rowe, S. (2014) Promoting empathy development with the 鈥榙amaged, disturbed and dangerous鈥: A snapshot study to examine the empathy levels of prisoners at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community,听Howard League ECAN bulletin, Issue 24, pp.26-29.
Rowe, S., Cooper, E. and Fulford, L. (2013) All Aboard: Using the Student Advisory Board to Engage Students with University Decision Making Processes. In Nygaard, C., Brand, S., Bartholomew, P. and Millard, L.听Student Engagement - Identity, Motivation and Community, Oxfordshire: Libri Publishing.
Rowe, S. (2013) Celebrating the work of the New Bridge Foundation,听Inside Time, January 2013, p32.
Rowe, S. (2012)听Foundations and Futures: New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report, London: New Bridge.
Media Work
Sophie is one of the University鈥檚 dedicated team of trained media champions and can comment on a range of subjects including prisons, sentencing, and resettlement.
Sophie has appeared on:
- Channel 5鈥檚 Killers Behind Bars
- BBC Three鈥檚 Race and Gender Season
- Channel 4's Interview with a Murderer
- ITV鈥檚 UK鈥檚 Worst Killers
- Channel 5鈥檚 Milly鈥檚 Killer: How Many More?
She has also been an expert advisor for:
- World Productions
- Channel 4's Unsolved Mysteries
- Crime & Investigation Network's Measuring Evil: Britain's Worst Killers
- Channel 4鈥檚 Life After Lock-Up
To arrange a media interview, please contact 探花直播 city University Press Office on +44 (0)121 331 6738, 0797 271532, email听press@bcu.ac.uk听or via Twitter听.
Links and Social Media
Twitter -听