Our People
The Criminal Justice Research Centre (CJRC) has a diverse and dynamic membership, providing a home for leaders in the field of criminal justice and criminology.
Membership of the CJRC is open to academic staff and postgraduate students with relevant research interests within the School of Law and the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. Associate membership is highly encouraged for researchers in other schools and departments, both within and outside the University of Nottingham. People who are interested in becoming a member should email cjrc@nottingham.ac.uk
CJRC Co-Directors
Dr Vicky Kemp is a Principal Research Fellow at the School of Law undertaking research into digital legal rights for suspects. She was previously a Principal Researcher with the Legal Services Research Centre, the independent research division of the former Legal Services Commission (from 2004 to 2013). In that role she conducted and managed policy-driven research for the Ministry of Justice into criminal legal aid, access to justice and the wider criminal justice system.
Prior to completing her doctorate at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, in 2003, Vicky gained experience of the criminal process both as a policy advisor and paralegal. In the Legal Aid Board (1995-1998), she was the policy advisor responsible for reform of criminal legal aid. She also has experience of working in multi-agency crime prevention and community safety partnerships, both for the Home Office (1991-1992) and Northamptonshire County Council (1992-1995). In the 1980s, she worked as a paralegal in a firm of solicitors, providing legal advice to suspects detained in police custody and preparing Crown Court cases for trial.
Associate Professor in Criminology with research interests in Penal Theory and Penology, Sociology of Prisons, Sociology of Risk and Power, Emotions within the Criminal Justice System, Narrative Criminology, Sensory Criminology, Criminological and Sociological Theory, Race, Racism, and Criminal Justice, Cultural Studies/Criminology; Ethnography; Qualitative Research (Methodology and Methods), and the Philosophy of the Social Sciences. His most recent book is concerned with forensic psychologists employed within the prisons of England and Wales: Forensic Psychologists: Prisons, Power, and Vulnerability. He also recently co-edited (with Drs Kate Herrity and Bethany E. Schmidt) Sensory Penalities: Exploring the Senses in Places of Punishment and Social Control.
He completed his Doctorate with the Prison Research Centre, Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University. He has worked at a number of HEIs and has also worked in the third sector where he conducted research and ran projects in Prisons, Probation, Youth Justice, and Forensic Mental Health. He has 30+ years of experience with the Criminal Justice System and has sat on the Advisory Boards for a number of research projects and policy reviews. Most recently he was an Advisory Board member for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Thematic Review (Dec 2022) into The Experiences of Adult Black Male Prisoners and Black Prison Staff.