The School to Prison Pipeline: A UK Perspective

Location
Room G12 Main Lecture Theatre Birmingham Business School
Dates
Monday 7 November 2022 (18:00-19:30)
school-to-prison2-large

A lively and engaging panel debate with audience engagement examining how poor attendance at school can be linked to poorer life outcomes. The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A where the audience will have the chance to join the conversation.  

School exclusions and school absenteeism have long been linked to poorer outcomes in later life, including higher rates of engagement in criminal activities. Shockingly, pupils excluded from school at the age of 12 are four times more likely as other children to be jailed as adults. Hence the phenomenon is often called ‘The School to Prison Pipeline’. This phenomenon is particularly concerning given the disproportionate rates of children from low-income and BAME backgrounds who are excluded from UK schools.  

How can schools play a part in providing better outcomes for young people, and divert them from crime? Join us for an event looking at the links between school exclusions, criminalisation and imprisonment.  

This event will bring together academics and a Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss solutions to the issue through a fascinating and interactive panel session with youth social services and on-governmental organisations (NGOs). 

The event is open to everyone – we encourage members of the general public, policy makers, NGOs, think tanks, students, academics to attend.  The event would be of interest to anyone interested in schools, school exclusions, economic, racial and ethnic disproportionality in schools and the criminal justice system, criminal justice system diversion programmes, rehabilitation, recidivism and strategies for reducing the likelihood for repeat offending with targeted interventions. 

Speakers:

  • Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay - Professor of Economics at Birmingham University. Professor Bandyopadhyay has been researching the criminal justice system and inequalities for over 25 years. 
  • Festus Akinbusoye - Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire.
  • John Campbell-Muir - Founder of the 'Training the Future' scheme that supports skill development in young people.
  • Malik Harrison - Lead trainer in the ConnectFutures programme that works to build resilience against violent extremism and exploitation.
  • Tara Lai Quinlan - Lecturer in Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Birmingham.
  • Juste Abramovaite - Research Fellow in 21st Century Transnational Crime at the University of Birmingham.

Light refreshments will be available and free online registration is required. 

This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science. Spanning the months of October and November a range of interactive virtual and physical events will be free and open to the public.