Prof Stephen Case
Professor of Criminology
Youth justice research plays a crucial part in shaping the positive futures of children and young people who offend. The better we understand their lives, the better we can respond to their behaviour, so we not only prevent them from reoffending, but promote positive outcomes. So, youth justice it is about more than offending; for example, it focuses on health and well-being, housing, social care, employment and education; basically children's quality of life.
Understanding young people who offend as children rather than offenders can lead to positive outcomes for their families and their communities.
I mainly work in the Youth Justice System of England and Wales with Youth Offending Teams and the Youth Justice Board, and the work I do has directly led to changes in policy and to better outcomes for children.
Criminology is a fascinating subject, it is challenging, it is critical, it is complex and its contested the world over… one of the most dynamic disciplines to study. Most of all its real, it happens in the real world to real people… it's the real nature of criminology that makes it so engaging.
Post 16 Education: A Levels English Language, Sociology & German
Higher Education: MPhil Applied Cognitive Psychology; Master’s in Education; PhD in Criminology
Why did you choose a psychology degree?
Because it allowed me to apply my analytical skills and because the subject is research and evidence based whilst being relevant to the real world. It gave me a clear set of transferable skills to use in my subsequent career as a criminologist and it has prepared me for my roles in scholarship and enterprise.
My degree allowed me to study real life, personal and social issues. It supported me to try to explain issues and create responses to them; one of the big ones was crime. It’s really important I think to not only be analytical and critical, but creative too.
Stephen’s experience as a student
When I was a PhD student, I was based in the offices of Swansea Youth Offending Team. I conducted my research by talking to children, parents, social workers, probation officers, police officers, teachers and youth workers whilst the real world went on around us.
Consequently, I was able to apply my academic skills and develop them in an everyday, practical context. I spent more of my time working with practitioners than I did in the library. Therefore, the transferable (research and analysis) skills that I acquired as an undergraduate student were applied and developed 'on the job' by working with practitioners and children in the field of youth justice.
Stephen’s Career
Initially, I took a job as a researcher on a youth crime prevention programme and as part of that did a PhD. Since that time, I have conducted research into how to improve the Youth Justice System by responding to young people who offend as 'children first', rather than as offenders. I work with youth justice professionals to encourage more child-friendly and research-informed youth justice responses to offending by children.
Stephen's advice
Keep your choices broad but coherent and relevant to your interests and skills. Choose to study something you’re interested in, or you won’t engage or succeed. Develop a broad range of skills that can apply to a broad range of careers.
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Please note: Degrees and their titles change over time. Some of these graduates may have studied degrees that have evolved and changed in response to changes in demand from employers.
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Some of 夜色直播app’s graduates enter welfare-related careers such as probation and social work, while others join the police, the prison service, management training schemes, and the personnel departments of large companies. A number of 夜色直播app’s graduates go on to do postgraduate study or teacher training.
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