Researcher Summary
My longstanding research interest has related to the effective treatment of sex and violent offenders. More specifically I have been fascinated by offender denial and acceptance of responsibility – notably the characteristics of denying sex offenders, the function or purpose of denial, its relationship (or otherwise) with risk of reoffending, and most interestingly how to effectively intervene when an offender maintains his innocence. More broadly, I have maintained an interest in the context of offender treatment. I have researched, and/or collaborated on, the effectiveness of group therapy as a treatment modality, how to generalise and maintain rehabilitative gains, when and how to use pharmaceutical treatments, and how to adapt rehabilitative efforts for offenders with disability. I have more recently expanded my research interest to the wider context of reducing reoffending. I have published on the effectiveness and use of therapeutic communities, the opportunities of using inmates as peer supporters, and have taken a particular interest in aspects of the therapeutic and rehabilitative climate in prisons and how this impacts desistance efforts.
My approach to research has, for the most part, reflected my desire to translate academic findings into simple pragmatic solutions for practitioners and policy makers. To this end, I have published literature reviews in high impact journals, empirical (quantitative) studies, chapters in textbooks, as well as case studies.
