Sharing a cell built for one, fearing for your safety, and freezing through the winter—are these really the right conditions for rehabilitation? In this episode, our hosts are joined by Andi Brierley, Senior Lecturer at Leeds Trinity University, and Andrea Coomber, CEO of the Howard League. They discuss what prison life looks like today, whether our prisons doing more harm than good, and what people truly need to move away from offending. Spoiler: it’s not being locked in a cell for 22 hours a day.
Andi Brierley
Find Andi's memoir here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Honour-Can-Tell-Story/dp/1909976644
Andrea Coomber
Read more about The Howard League's concerns: https://howardleague.org/why-are-prisons-overcrowded/
Further Resources
Read the Justice Select Committee report: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8678/rehabilitation-and-resettlement-ending-the-cycle-of-reoffending/
Read host Rob's latest podcast on prison population projections: https://reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/courting-trouble.html
Transform Justice
Twitter: @TransformJust1
BlueSky: @transformjustice.bsky.social
Email: policy@transformjustice.org.uk
The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.