Visiting speaker inspires year 12 sociology students

Head of Sociology and Careers Mrs Kinder has been delighted to welcome Dr Carla Reeves from the University of Huddersfield to deliver a session to our Year 12 Sociologists on an overview of the study of Criminology, and particularly the currently highly relevant topic of: `The problems of prisons`.

In an engaging, informative, and insightful presentation, Dr Reeves began with an overview of the broad spectrum of the field of Criminology, encompassing:

• Policing, its ethics and professional standards
• Sentencing by Judges
• The National Probation service,
• The study of why certain crimes occur in certain places against certain people
• Criminology as a `vampire` subject and how it draws on a range of subject areas: sociology, psychology, law, jurisprudence, politics, philosophy, media studies, history, human geography, social care, biology, and maths

Dr Reeves then progressed to address the problem with prisons, including the core areas of:

• Issues of overcrowding, with some thought-provoking statistics
• Reoffending
• The crisis of legitimacy
• Ideas on punishment and its aims: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation
• Key approaches to Penal policy - both Right and Left Realism
• Life in prison and its impact on both prisoners and their families
• The state of prisons and prison safety

Our students were inspired to think, to question, and to contribute, and Dr Reeves left them with much to debate and question on the contentious issues of: whether the state is criminalising difference; how and why did UK prisons get to be in their current state; crime rates and sentencing statistics; and what are the potential solutions to the problems with prisons?

The session was not only an invaluable opportunity for our students to meet a research professional in the field, but also a fantastic introduction to the next phase of their course, as Mrs Kinder explains:

The students are just starting the Crime and Deviance unit of their Sociology A Level, so this is a great introduction to Criminology that helps them to really appreciate how what they are learning links to wider issues. It will also link in to the trip to Shrewsbury Prison that we will undertake in Year 13.

And in also providing our students with an encounter with a university, this experience contributes to our ongoing Careers Programme, and students have been able to find out more about what is on offer at Huddersfield University and about Headstart Huddersfield.

With huge thanks to Dr Reeves for taking the time to visit us today and to Mrs Kinder for organising this fantastic opportunity for our students.