Risky Business: Why the Parole Board Releases Bad People (w/ Emma McClure)

The Parole Board turned 50 in 2017 but it has recently found itself the subject of high profile stories about what appear to be dangerous and risky decisions to release high profile prisoners convicted of the most serious of crimes. Is this a new issue? How are these decisions made and how on earth can murderers, robbers or rapists ever be safely released to the community? What are the tools to achieve this and how much can Parole assessments be relied upon to predict risk?

In this talk prison lawyer Emma lays out how the Parole Board operates in practice; the way risk assessments are conducted and the problems that exist in the current system in trying to make evidence-based decisions and the management of society’s most dangerous people within a problem-ridden criminal justice system.

Emma is a solicitor specialising in representing prisoners and mental health patients. She regularly appears before the Parole Board and Mental Health Tribunal. She is also a public speaker interested in the intersection between the pursuit of justice and critical thinking. (Photo credit: Richard Cooper)

This event is jointly hosted with Goldsmiths’ Forensic Psychology Unit.

All APRU talks are open to staff, students and members of the public. Attendance is free and there is no need to book in advance. You are strongly recommended to register (at no cost) with the APRU’s “Psychology of the Paranormal” email list to ensure that you are informed of any future changes to the programme as well as news of related events. You can also follow @chriscfrench on Twitter for announcements (including news of last-minute cancellations, changes of venue, etc.). Visit: http://www.gold.ac.uk/apru/email-network/