This session is about a shift in mindset: from seeing lived experience as supportive, to recognising it as transformational infrastructure for safer, more effective correctional systems. Correctional systems are under increasing pressure: high rates of trauma, mental illness, and substance use are the norm, not the exception. Yet too often, responses remain fragmented, clinical, and disconnected from the realities of lived experience. This session challenges that model. We will explore what happens when lived experience is systematically embedded as a core capability across custody and re-entry systems.
We are joined by a panel of experts spanning academia, operational leadership and lived experience: Professor Shadd Maruna, Head of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool; Dr Gillian Buck, Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Chester and leading authority on peer mentoring in criminal justice; Paula Harriott, CEO of Unlock; Alice Adamson, Deputy Director for Rehabilitation Strategy and Interventions at HMPPS; Kirk Turner, Head of the OPD Pathway in Health and Care Partnerships at HMPPS; and Michael McCusker, Founder and Director of The Turnaround Project.
This workshop examines how peer-led roles can move beyond isolated initiatives to foster systemic change in culture, violence reduction, and mental health care. Participants will gain practical strategies for safe and effective implementation, understand the impact of peer-led approaches, conditions for success, challenges, and how to scale pilot programs, all while rethinking workforce structure and service delivery using trauma-informed practices.
×
Tassie Ghilani
HMPPS National Lived Experience Lead, Ministry of Justice, United Kingdom
Tassie Ghilani is the National Lived Experience Lead for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in England and Wales. She leads national work to embed lived experience and peer‑led approaches across prisons, probation and youth custody, shaping how rehabilitation is designed, delivered and sustained in custody and community settings. Tassie is a lived experience leader who has worked across children’s social care, criminal justice and justice‑health systems. Her work focuses on translating evidence‑based rehabilitation into everyday practice, strengthening recruitment pathways, and supporting trauma‑informed, relational systems that enable desistance, recovery and public protection. She works at the intersection of operational delivery, policy development and system reform, with a strong focus on centring the voices and experiences of people with lived experience in national decision‑making.
×
Alice Adamson
Deputy Director Rehabilitation HMPPS, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, England
Alice Adamson is Deputy Director in Rehabilitation Strategy and Interventions at HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), based within the Ministry of Justice. She provides senior leadership across national rehabilitation policy and reform, with a focus on improving outcomes for people on probation and strengthening the effectiveness of interventions. A key part of her role is the strategic implementation of lived experience within HMPPS, working across custody and community settings to embed peer led approaches into service design and delivery.
×
Dr Gillian Buck
Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Chester, England
Dr Gillian Buck is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Chester and a leading researcher in lived experience, peer mentoring, and criminal justice. Her work focuses on how people with lived experience can shape research, policy, and practice, particularly within systems of probation and rehabilitation.
Gillian has led and contributed to a range of research projects exploring peer mentoring, desistance, and service user involvement in criminal justice. Her work bridges academic research and practice, with a strong emphasis on translating evidence into approaches that support more inclusive and effective systems.
×
Professor Shadd Maruna
Head of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology , University of Liverpool, England
Professor Shadd Maruna is the Head of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool and the Past President of the American Society of Criminology (2022-2024). Previously he has worked at the University of Cambridge, the University of Manchester, and Rutgers University (USA) where he was the Dean of the School of Criminal Justice. His book Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives was named the Outstanding Contribution to Criminology by the American Society of Criminology, and he was the recipient of the inaugural Research Medal from the Howard League for Penal Reform.
×
Paula Harriot
CEO, UNLOCK, England
Paula Harriott is Chief Executive of Unlock, the national independent advocacy charity for people with criminal records. She has extensive experience across the criminal justice system, working at the intersection of policy, practice, and service development to improve access to employment, housing, and fair treatment for people with convictions.
Alongside her leadership role, Paula brings strong expertise in lived experience engagement, supporting organisation to move beyond consultation towards meaningful co-production and system change. Her work focuses on creating more equitable and responsive justice systems.
×
Michael J. McCusker
Engagement and Advocacy Manager, The Turnaround Project, Northern Ireland
Michael J. McCusker is a lived experience practitioner working within community and criminal justice settings, including the Turning Around Project in Northern Ireland. His work focuses on recovery, mental health, and the use of peer support to strengthen engagement, reduce stigma, and connect individuals to services. He is a strong advocate for the role of lived experience in shaping more responsive and effective justice and mental health systems.
