Sophie Gregory

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 “damaged, disturbed and dangerous”.

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.

• Long-term prison sentences
• Family ties and prison visitations
• The ageing prison population
• Resettlement
• Restorative justice
• Arts in criminal justice
• Reflective practice

• Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Birmingham City University
• Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice, Birmingham City University
• MA Criminology, Birmingham City University, Distinction
• Dissertation: Promoting empathy development with the “damaged, disturbed and dangerous”.  A snapshot study to examine the empathy levels of prisoners at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community.
• BA (Hons) Criminology, Birmingham City University, First Class
• Dissertation: An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove: Referral Orders in Theory and Practice.

• Fellow, Higher Education Academy

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’s taught modules she has also set up Birmingham City University’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme. After completing her US Inside-Out training at Graterford maximum security prison in Philadelphia in 2018 she established the Birmingham City University 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.

Sophie’s current research activities include:

• A collaborative research project with Flicker Productions based on the latest Channel 4 series, ‘Life After Lock-Up’, a three-part observational documentary which followed the journeys of prison leavers over a one-year period as they navigated re-entry into society.  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 Birmingham City University and HMP Oakwood.  Inside-Out is an educational programme with an innovative pedagogical approach tailored to effectively facilitate dialogue across difference.  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.  The evaluation explores the outcomes for both inside and outside students, as well as the challenges of implementing a university-prison partnership.

Rowe, S. (2019) New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2018. 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) New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2017. 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., Williams, J., Rowe, S., Brown, B. and Kane, D. (2017) The Restorative Justice Project: Evaluation of Restorative Justice Conferences.  Birmingham: West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

Rowe, S. (2017) New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report 2016. 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) An analysis of the needs of Grendon graduates. Buckinghamshire: The Friends of Grendon Trust.

The Hidden Impact of Crime by Performative Criminology (2016) Directed by Sophie Grace Rowe. Birmingham City University Drama Studio, 14-15 April.

Brookes, M., Wilson, D., Yardley, E., Rahman, M. and Rowe, S. (2015) Faceless: High Profile Murders and Public Recognition, 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 Birmingham City University, Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 19(3), pp.96-101.

Rowe, S. (2014) Promoting empathy development with the ‘damaged, disturbed and dangerous’: A snapshot study to examine the empathy levels of prisoners at HMP Grendon Therapeutic Community, 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. Student Engagement - Identity, Motivation and Community, Oxfordshire: Libri Publishing.

Rowe, S. (2013) Celebrating the work of the New Bridge Foundation, Inside Time, January 2013, p32.

Rowe, S. (2012) Foundations and Futures: New Bridge Befriending Service Evaluation Report, London: New Bridge.

Twitter - @Sophie_PhD

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