Dr Victoria Knight

Job: Senior Research Fellow

School/department: School of Applied Social Sciences

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH.

T: +44 (0)116 2577720

E: vknight@dmu.ac.uk

W: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/hls

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Personal profile

Dr Victoria Knight PhD MA BA (Hons) is Associate Professor in Research for the Community and Criminal Justice Division in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, De Montfort University. She has expertise and research experience across two core areas: 1) digital technologies use in prisons and 2) emotion and criminal justice

Victoria employs a range and mix of methodologies including qualitative and quantitative. Victoria has extensive research experience for engaging ‘hard to reach’ groups in a range of settings; both community and prison. She strives to adopt an ‘appreciate approach’, taking on board people’s situations and difficulties.

Victoria has lead and managed a number of research projects and evaluations with respect to basic skills interventions for young offenders.

She has completed a range of prison studies including Digital Maturity of Prisons (2020), Public Acceptability of Digital Prisons (2018), Prisoners Watching Prison Films (2020) Prison Arts and Wellbeing (2018), minority ethnic prisoners’ perceptions of the Prison and Probation Service (2004), mass communication consumption in a closed male young offenders’ institution (2000).Her doctoral thesis explored the role of in-cell TV in male adult prisons. Victoria is a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Leicester and the editorial board for the Prison Service Journal. Victoria has published her work- Remote Control: Television in Prison Palgrave Macmillian 2016. Forthcoming books include an edited collection with Dr Jennifer Turner- The Prison Cell and Prisoners Watching Prison with Dr Jamie Bennett. Both published by Palgrave Macmillian.

Victoria’s teaching covers tutoring young offenders media and communication studies as well as to Media and Cultural Studies undergraduates, research methods and sociological theory for Probation and Police Officers, and media and cultural studies to Applied Criminology and Youth and Community undergraduates. Victoria currently supervises five PhD students.

Victoria is Director of the Prison and Probation Research Hub and convenor of the Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster at De Montfort University. She also manages impact case studies for Social Work and Social Policy.

Research group affiliations

Prison and Probation Research Hub- Director

Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster- Convenor

Publications and outputs

The Digital Desistance Manifesto
dc.title: The Digital Desistance Manifesto dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Sarah Elison-Davies; Helen Farley; James Tangen dc.description.abstract: Desistance theories in criminology explore how individuals stop engaging in criminal behaviours and have gained increased attention since the 1990s. Desistance involves actively leaving criminality behind and rebuilding one's identity in contrast to rehabilitation's passive interventions. These theories are expanding to include societal perspectives, encompassing community reciprocity and moral reintegration. As society becomes more digital, the criminal justice system is also transforming, necessitating efforts to integrate digital skills into desistance strategies. This manifesto advocates for responsible digitisation in the penal system, aiming for a transformative approach that supports reintegration and leverages technology. It outlines how digital tools can facilitate desistance at different levels and emphasises the role of digital competencies in employment and education contexts for broader cognitive and social growth. The chapter serves as a call for positive change and reintegration in the evolving digital landscape within the criminal justice system.
Digital Exclusion and the Cost of Living Call for Evidence The Digital Poverty of our Prisons
dc.title: Digital Exclusion and the Cost of Living Call for Evidence The Digital Poverty of our Prisons dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria dc.description.abstract: The Digital Poverty of our Prisons At any one time approximately 90,000 people are in prisons across the UK. This equates to 176 people out of 100,00. It is forecasted that the population is set to rise to approximately 99,000 by 2026. Each prisoner costs £48,000 per year from the public purse. Moreover current reoffending rates and returns to prison custody are estimated to be 25%. . It is also suggested that sentences are getting longer. Prisoners experience a restricted and regulated period of time and have limited access to the goods and services commonly found in the outside world. The longer and more frequent the periods in prison, the more the impact of deprivation is exacerbated. Prisoners are incentivised, following good behaviour, to gain access to many goods and services. In addition, people in prison have to pay for things like telephone calls, using a restricted email system and TV. That said our prisons are ‘communication poor’ environments (Knight 2016)- whereby opportunities to interact are limited and it therefore no surprise that digital inequality is readily experienced in prison. This does not exclude staff either. They too experience digital exclusion and deprivation.
Digital Maturity of Prisons: A Global Survey
dc.title: Digital Maturity of Prisons: A Global Survey dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Reisdorf, Bianca; Van De Steene, Steven dc.description.abstract: Our prisons are at the beginning of digital transformation, with some prisons more ‘advanced’ digitally speaking than others. This research project does not seek to offer a ranking of prison services’ digital capabilities, but instead we review how services are getting on with digitization, how they are adopting new technologies, what their approaches are to this, and how technology is or is not important to help them reach their objectives. This is a valuable study as it will: ● Help to understand the current efforts of digitization within prison settings. ● Gauge correctional priorities with respect to digitization and help to understand how important technology is as a driver for change. ● Help to understand the complexity of digitization by exploring the cultural, organizational, and technical dimensions of it. ● Help to understand digital sophistication and challenges in implementing digital infrastructure. ● Identify the qualities of digitization in the context of prisons. The aim of this project is to develop a digital maturity model for prisons that can be used to measure the degree of maturity in the digital transformation and outline a pathway by which prison services could move to progress towards increased digital maturity—where organizations review and anticipate a new digital reality. As such, it should help agencies build their own digital strategies and self-assessment tools. We must stress that the design of the digital maturity tool has emerged as a result of careful consideration of human needs and harm reduction. Digital maturity encompasses the thinking process around exploring and adopting digital technologies where appropriate, as well as the decision making around defining the demarcation of its use and where it is not appropriate to transform analogue, human processes into digital ones. That is, we do not define digital maturity as going digital at all cost, but as a goal-driven and human-centered process that utilizes digital tools to improve conditions for correctional residents and staff alike.
The Pracademic Classroom in Criminal Justice: Learning for life
dc.title: The Pracademic Classroom in Criminal Justice: Learning for life dc.contributor.author: Turgoose, Di; Christopher, Steve; Knight, Victoria; O'Neill, Sarah; Standen, Leah dc.description.abstract: Delegates were invited to join us for a panel discussion of neophyte, established, and expert by experience criminal justice pracademics involved in teaching in the Community and Criminal Justice Division located in the School of Applied Social Sciences at DMU. The session was chaired by the criminal justice pracademic network lead at DMU. The pracademic criminal justice panel initially explored who and what ‘counts’ as a pracademic in criminal justice, before moving on to discuss what benefits pracademics can bring to Higher Education Institutions in terms of enhancing teaching, learning and scholarship including for example, best practice for student lifelong learning in criminal justice. The panel illustrated the added value of the pracademic classroom by sharing real world examples of disruptive pedagogical teaching practices utilised on both traditional taught undergraduate campus-based, and professional (blended and distance learning) based programmes of study in Criminology and Criminal Justice at DMU. There was an opportunity to ask questions on a myriad of areas of pedagogical interest and to share ideas from delegates own disciplines. A key aim of the session was to develop pracademic networking opportunities across disciplines at DMU. Delegates also left the session with some take away hints, tips and tricks to add to their personal teaching and learning toolkits.
Achieving Digital Maturity in Prisons: A Study on the Organisational Readiness to Support the Inmates Digital Journey
dc.title: Achieving Digital Maturity in Prisons: A Study on the Organisational Readiness to Support the Inmates Digital Journey dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Van De Steene, Steven; Riesdorf, Bianca dc.description.abstract: This presentation outlines the findings of the global digital maturity survey in prison settings.
Achieving Digital Maturity in Prisons: A Study on Organizational Digital Readiness – a Gateway to Innovation
dc.title: Achieving Digital Maturity in Prisons: A Study on Organizational Digital Readiness – a Gateway to Innovation dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Van De Steene, Steven; Riesdorf, Bianca dc.description.abstract: This presentation outlines the findings of a global digital maturity survey in prison services
Public Acceptability of Prisoners’ Access and Use of Digital Technologies in UK
dc.title: Public Acceptability of Prisoners’ Access and Use of Digital Technologies in UK dc.contributor.author: Hadlington, Lee; Knight, Victoria dc.description.abstract: Prisons and its people are subject to digital inequalities whereby the distribution of Information Communication Technology (ICT), access, uptake and skills is restricted by strict regulations to control use. Two hundred and thirty-seven participants took part in our study on prisoners’ access to digital technology. A scale (Attitudes Towards Digital Technology in Secure Environments (ATD-ISE)) was developed to assess attitudes towards the use and implementation of digital technology in prisons. We observed there is a potential opportunity to inform and educate the public on the value of enhancing digital literacy within our prisons for the benefit of rehabilitative outcomes. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
Prison and Probation Research Hub: Consultation of Prisons Strategy White Paper
dc.title: Prison and Probation Research Hub: Consultation of Prisons Strategy White Paper dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Little, Ross; Baldwin, Lucy; Collett, Nicola dc.description.abstract: This is the PPHub's response to the recent MOJ White Paper on Prisons Strategy launch Dec 2021.
The Prison Cell: Embodied and Everyday Spaces of Incarceration
dc.title: The Prison Cell: Embodied and Everyday Spaces of Incarceration dc.contributor.author: Turner, Jennifer; Knight, Victoria dc.description.abstract: This edited collection explores the social and psychological experiences of the prison cell.
Attitudes towards Digital Technology in Secure Environments Scale (ATD-ISE).
dc.title: Attitudes towards Digital Technology in Secure Environments Scale (ATD-ISE). dc.contributor.author: Knight, Victoria; Hadlington, Lee dc.description.abstract: Item Scale for Attitudes towards Digital Technology in Secure Environments Scale (ATD-ISE). dc.description: Attitude Scale Links to forthcoming publication in The Prison Journal 2022

Click here to view a full listing of Victoria Knight's publications and outputs.

Research interests/expertise

Prisons
Prisoners
Digital technologies
Media audiences
Emotion
Digital inclusion and literacy
Offender education
Governance

Areas of teaching

Research methods
Sociology
Media
Media and Crime
PhD supervision

Qualifications

BA (Hons)
MA
PhD

Courses taught

Criminological Research – MA
Research and Effective Practice – BA (Hons) Probation- module leader
Research and Effective Practice – BA (Hons) Applied Criminology
Culture and Subculture- Youth and Community
Media and Crime- BA (Hons)- Applied Criminology

Honours and awards

PhD The role of in-cell television in a male adult prison, De Montfort University Leicester 2012.

MA- Independent Study in Media Studies, De Montfort University Leicester 2001.

BA (Hons) - in Media, English and Politics, De Montfort University Leicester 2000

Membership of external committees

Independent Monitoring Board HMP Leicester 2005-date.

The Prison Service Journal - Editorial Board 2013-date

Advancing Corrections Journal- Editorial Board 2017- date

Projects

Digital Maturity of Prisons: A global survey (2019- date)

Prison Arts and Wellbeing (2018-date) Soft Touch Arts

Public Acceptability of Digital Prisons (2018-date) with Dr Lee Hadlington

Evaluation of Distance Learning in South Wales (2016-17) Prisoner Education Trust

Evaluation of No Cracks (2015- ongoing) Resettlement project run by YMCA funded by Big Lottery

NIHR Programme Development Grant: Exploring approaches to the implementation of embedded structured self-management for diabetes care (2012-2013)

Engaging with the Night Time Economy Community: Finding Ways to Enhance Violence Reduction in Leicester City (2012) for Safer Leicestershire Partnership

Evaluation of Restorative Approaches Project in Children’s Care Homes in Leicestershire (2008-2010) for Leicestershire Youth Offending Service

Engaging 16+ Young Offenders in Education, Training and Employment (2009) A project funded by Leicestershire Youth Offending Service

Recidivism Study of the Provision of Basic Skills for Young Offenders (2007) A project funded by Leicestershire YOT.

Evaluation of Victims and Witnesses Action Group (2005) A project commissioned by Leicester’s Victim and Witness Action Group.

Survey of Personal Safety Provisions and Training for Employees and Service Users in the Leicester City Area (2004) A project commissioned by Leicester’s Victim and Witness Action Group.

Evaluation of the Provision of Basic Skills for Young Offenders (2003- 2006) A project funded by Leicestershire YOT.

Minority Ethnic Prisoners’ Perceptions and Knowledge of the Probation and Prison Services in the East of England (2003). A project commissioned by the East of England Probation Service in order to develop and implement a Race Relations Scheme.

Forthcoming events

Conference attendance

2019 Knight, V. & Van De Steene Developing an ethical and moral framework for the digital prison Council of Europe Cyprus

2019 Morris, J & Knight, V. Coproduction of digital technology Technology in Corrections Lisbon, Portugal

2019 Knight, V. & Van De Steene Developing an ethical and moral framework for the digital prison Technology in Corrections Lisbon, Portugal

2018- Knight, V. & Van De Steene, S. ICPA Montreal

2018- Knight, V. & Van De Steene, S. Informing Digital Provision In Prisons: Securing an evidence base to optimise digital opportunities for prisoners and staff Corrections Research Symposium Prague

2018- invited keynote speaker Developing Digital Strategies: Becoming a Smart Prison Europris ICT Workshop Stockholm

2018- panellist with Van de Steene, S. The Smart Prison British Society of Criminology event Leicester

2017- Van De Steene, S. & Knight, V. Smart Prisons: Innovation & Correctional strategy in a digital world ICPA London Conference

2017- invited panellist The e-prison- Criminal Justice Management Conference London- Unilink panel- The Digital Prison with Grahame Hawkings, Former Governor of HMP Isis Andy Wright, National Implementation Lead for Digital Incell / Prisoner Self Service (formally Head of Reducing Reoffending at HMP Wayland)

2017- invited panellist and keynote speaker- Technology in Corrections Conference Prague

Presentations:

1. Public acceptability and service appetite

2. Innovation in Corrections with Van De Steene, S.

2017- invited panellist and keynote speaker- Public acceptability and service appetite Technology in Corrections Conference Prague

2016- The Role of Self and Emotions Within Qualitative Data Analysis (with Dr Irene Zempi) 7th ESRC Research Methods Festival, 5-7 July 2016, University of Bath invited https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKtAsbEKg30

2016- Digitization and the prison Criminal Justice Management Conference London invited panellist PRISON REFORM – HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY HELP DRIVE REHABILITATION? http://cjm-conference.co.uk/seminars/

2016- Digitizing the Prison: Added value of the use of internet by inmates Europris Workshop ICT in Prisons Sintra Portugal http://www.europris.org/ict-in-prisons/ - invited speaker

2016- What in-cell digital technologies can do for our prisoners and prisons

Department of Sociology Nottingham Trent University Seminar Series invited speaker

2015- What digital technologies can offer patients and secure hospitals- Technology in a Secure Setting Conference 25th November 2015 Guild Lodge Hospital– invited speaker

2015- What in-cell digital technologies can do for our prisoners and prisons

THE FUTURE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE MANAGEMENT Conference Dec 2015 University of Salford- invited speaker

2015- Digital Landscape in European and American Corrections - Invited Key Note Speaker EuroPris- Corrections Digital Technology Conference Barcelona http://www.europris.org/technology-in-corrections-challenges-for-the-future/

2016- Concept-formation, Complexity and Social Domains: Investigating Emotion(s) in a PrisonSetting (with Professor Derek Layder) 9th International Conference on Social Science Methodology University of Leicester

2016- Methods of Emotion Research in Criminology (with Dr Christina Quinlan) 9th International Conference on Social Science Methodology University of Leicester

2016- Digital Technologies in Prison: If there is a will is there is a way? ESC working group Prison Life & Effects of Imprisonment Odense, Denmark

2016- Television: a fissure in the emotional architecture of prison life First Annual Emotion and Criminal Justice Conference De Montfort University with Jenna Ward and Christopher Stamper

2016- The role of self and emotion within qualitative data analysis Ethnography and Crime Symposium University of Birmingham with Irene Zempi

2015- Modus Vivendi: The cell, emotions, social relations and television AAG 2015 Chicago Carceral Geographies IV: Gendered and Embodied Confinement- selected by http://carceralgeography.com/2014/12/24/carceral-geography-at-the-aag-chicago-il-2015/

2015- Digital Landscape in European and American Corrections

- Invited Key Note Speaker EuroPris- Corrections Digital Technology Conference Barcelona http://www.europris.org/technology-in-corrections-challenges-for-the-future/

2015- Emotional Methodologies BSA Postgraduate Conference – University of Leicester Invited Panel Member http://emotionalmethodologies.weebly.com

2014- Researching Complexity: Social Domains and Emotion in Prison Research at the 6^th Midterm Conference on Emotions University of Aegan Rhodes Greece

2014- Boredom in Prison at the 6^th Midterm Conference on Emotions University of Aegan Rhodes Greece

2014- A Good night out? Keeping Leicester City Safe- Festival of Ideas, De Montfort University

Journeys Across Media 2012 Time Tells: Temporal Excavations in Film, Theatre and Television: Doing Prison Time or Doing Boredom with In-cell Television: Adult male prisoners’ experiences of television. Reading University

2012 - Governing Souls with In-cell Television- a study into the role of in-cell television in a adult male prison in UK. Doctoral workshop in Brussels. Audiences- Cross Generational Research.

2012 - Doing Prison Time or Doing Boredom with In-cell Television: Adult male prisoners’ experiences of television. Time Tells: Temporal Excavations in Film, Theatre and Television at the Journeys Across Media at Reading University .

2009 - International Learning Conference- Barcelona: Issues of compliance in Education for Young Offenders T-learning as vehicle for in-cell learning in prison- with Jean Hine.

Key articles information

See publications for up to date list.

Knight, V. & Van De Steene, S. (2020) The digital prison: Towards an ethics of technology in Critical Issues in Criminal Justice Routledge

Turner, J. & Knight, V. & Turner, J. (Eds.) (book under construction due 2020) The Prison Cell Palgrave Macmillan

Bennett, J & Knight, V. (2020) Reading Bronson from deep on the inside: An exploration of prisoners watching prison films in The Palgrave Handbook of Incarceration in Popular Culture Hames et al Palgrave Macmillan

Morris, J. & Knight, V (2018) Co-Producing Digitally-Enabled Courses that Promote Desistance in Prison and Probation Settings Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice

Knight,V. & van de Steene, S. (2017) The Capacity and Capability of Digital Innovation in Prisons: Smart Prisons Advancing Corrections Journal Edition 3 https://icpa.ca/advancing-corrections-journal/

Van De Steene, S. and Knight, V., (2017) Digital transformation for prisons: Developing a needs-based strategy. Probation Journal, 64(3), pp.256-268.

http://journals.sagepub.com/toc/prbb/current- Special issue: Technologies of Crime, Control and Change

Knight, V. (2014) A modus Vivendi –In-cell Television, Social Relations, Emotion and Safer Custody Prison Service Journal

Knight, V. (2012) Scaling it down? A Study to Identify How 16 + Young Offenders across Leicestershire Engage with Education, Training or Employment in British Journal of Community Justice Vol. 10:2

Knight. V. (2012) Engaging with the Night Time Economy: Finding Ways to Enhance Violence Reduction Across Leicester City Research Report for Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Police https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/9336?show=full

Knight V & Hine J (2009) Learning their Lesson: T-Learning as a Vehicle for In-Cell Learning by Prisoners in The International Journal of Learning –

Knight V, Kemshall H & Dominey J (2007) Gathering Offender Perceptions of Probation Programmes: Potential, Pitfalls and Limits in British Journal of Community Justice Vol 5 (1) Spring 2007 pp65-77.

Fleming J, Goodman H, Knight V and Skinner A (2006) Delivering Effective Multi-Agency Work for Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Practice Journal Vol 18 (4) pp265-278.

Dominey Jane, Knight Victoria and Kemshall Hazel (2005) The Perception of the Participant on Accredited Programmes in the Probation Service Vista Vol 10 (2) pp72-80.

Knight V (2005) An Investigation into Mass Communication Consumption in a Closed Young Offenders’ Institution Participations Journal Vol 2 (1) www.participations.org.

Knight V & Goodman H (2005) Personal Safety Provisions, Services and Training for Service Providers and Users in Leicester City in Community Safety Journal 4 (1) pp20-32.

Knight V (2004) An Investigation into Minority Ethnic Prisoners’ Knowledge and Perceptions of the Probation and Prison Service in the East of England in Community Safety Journal 3 (2) (Spring 2004) pp23-31.

Current research students

Lucy Baldwin- 1st Supervisor

Ross Little- 2nd Supervisor

Stephen Christopher- 2nd Supervisor

Tina Billington-Hughes- 2nd Supervisor

Externally funded research grants information

Live Projects:

Prison Arts and Wellbeing – (Jan 2017-2020) CO-PI for Soft Touch Arts and HMP Leicester £15000.00

Previous Projects:

A pilot project evaluation of learning communities in Welsh prisons Prison Education Trust (2016-2018) CO-PI- Prison Education Trust £25000.00

No Cracks Evaluation- YMCA (2015-17) CO-PI Big Lottery £15000.00

An Evaluation of Letter Writing Methodology for Prisoners- ASS project (2015-2016) PI £1000.00

NIHR Programme Development Grant: Exploring approaches to the implementation of embedded structured self-management for diabetes care (2012-2013) CI £40 000.00

Engaging with the Night Time Economy Community: Finding Ways to Enhance Violence Reduction in Leicester City (2012) for Safer Leicestershire Partnership PI £15000.00

Evaluation of Restorative Approaches Project in Children’s Care Homes in Leicestershire (2008-2010) for Leicestershire Youth Offending Service PI £20000.00

Engaging 16+ Young Offenders in Education, Training and Employment (2009) A project funded by Leicestershire Youth Offending Service PI £3000.00

Recidivism Study of the Provision of Basic Skills for Young Offenders (2007) A project funded by Leicestershire YOT. PI £5000.00

Evaluation of Victims and Witnesses Action Group (2005) A project commissioned by Leicester’s Victim and Witness Action Group. PI £10000.00

Survey of Personal Safety Provisions and Training for Employees and Service Users in the Leicester City Area (2004) A project commissioned by Leicester’s Victim and Witness Action Group. CO-PI £4000.00

Evaluation of the Provision of Basic Skills for Young Offenders (2003- 2006) A project funded by Leicestershire YOT. PI £10000.00

Internally funded research project information

Prisoners’ Readings of Prison Films and Documentaries CO-PI with Dr Jamie Bennett at HMP Gartree £1000.00

Public Acceptability of Digital Technology in Prisons (2017-18) PI £2000.00

Professional esteem indicators

Leading scholarship:

Lead Convenor of the Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster at De Montfort University- annual conferences 2016 & 2018 and seminars

Convenor of Correctional Digital Technologies Research Network- launched 2017 and hosted by ICPA

University of Cambridge’s Prison Life New Frontiers in Prison Research scholarship 2016-Date

Vice-chair for Midlands Branch for British Criminology Society – 3 year tenure September 2016

School of Applied Social Sciences REF Impact Coordinator for UoA 22- Social Work and Social Policy

Co-lead Arts in Prison session for DMU’s Cultural Exchanges annual arts festival

Consultations and advisory roles:

Invited to advise on Europris’ ICT platform 2018- Belgium

Invited to advise Inter Development Bank at ICT and Prison Workshop- Washington DC 2018

Invited to advise on Digital Prison for Her Majesty’s Prison and Probations Service (HMPPS and their Innovation Department 2015-Date

Invited to advise corporate digital developers on technology in prison 2015-ongoing

Invited to advise on the Digital Content Group for Her Majesty’s Prison and Probations Service (HMPPS)- setting standards 2017

Consultant to digitization in the design and architecture of a secure hospital

Impact activities:

Invited to the School of Batman The Rebirth Of Blackgate Penitentiary https://soundcloud.com/schoolofbatman/the-rebirth-of-blackgate-penitentiary-victoria-knight

Presented evidence on Education in Youth Custody- Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2016- Research Briefing

Member of the European Society of Criminology working group Prison Life & Effects of Imprisonment https://effectsofprisonlife.wordpress.com

Case studies

The Birth of the Digital Prison

My research and scholarship contributes to ongoing thinking and responses to the the design and implementation of digital technologies in prison settings.