Professor Nicola (Nicky) Padfield | Faculty of Law

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Email

nmp21@cam.ac.uk

Fitzwilliam College

Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice; Former Director, Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice

Interests

I have a very broad academic lens, interested in all things criminal, from substantive law, through procedure and evidence to sentencing, and what goes on in prison (and post-sentence enforcement generally). I am engaged in both ‘hard’ law and in socio-legal-criminological research, in England and in Europe. My main research interest is sentencing law, especially into the law and practice of release from (and recall to) prison.

Research centres and interest groups

Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice (CCCJ)

Selected publications

Books

Criminal Law: Core Texts Series, 2016) 10th Edition

The Criminal Justice Process: Text and Materials (with Jonathan Bild), 2016) 5th Edition

Release from Prison – European Policy and Practice (with Dirk van Zyl Smith and Frieder Dünkel) (eds), 2010)

Who to release? Parole, fairness and criminal justice (ed), 2007)

Discretion: its uses in criminal justice and beyond (with L Gelsthorpe) (eds), 2003)

Beyond the Tariff: Human rights and the release of life sentence prisoners, 2002)

A Guide to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (with Biggs, S, and Farrell, S), 2002)

Sentencing: Theory, Law, and Practice (with Nigel Walker), 1999) 2nd Edition

A Guide to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, 1998)

Articles

"The Function of the Parole Board – avoiding failure or promoting success?" (2020) Public Law 468

"Epilogue: Shaping the Future of Sentencing " [2020] Criminal Law Review 429-435

"Giving and getting parole: the changing characteristics of parole in England and Wales " (2019)11 European Journal of Probation 153

"Deaths while under probation supervision: what role for human rights legislation? " (2019) 90 The Political Quarterly 439

"Deaths while under probation supervision: what role for human rights legislation? " (2019) 90 The Political Quarterly 439-448

"When will I get out? " (2019) 78 Cambridge LJ 11-14

"Exploring the impact of Council of Europe institutions through a cross-jurisdictional collaboration " ECAN Bulletin, No 39 (2018) 21-30 (Hoard League for Penal Reform)

"Non-custodial deaths: Missing, ignored or unimportant? " 19 Criminology and Criminal Justice 160-178

"Monitoring prisons in England and Wales: who ensures the fair treatment of prison-ers? " (2018) 70 Crime, Law and Social Change 57-76

"Legal constraints on the indeterminate control of ‘dangerous’ sex offenders in the community: an English human rights perspective " (2016) 2 Erasmus Law Review 55-66

"The role of the Parole Board" Independent Monitor, Sept 2017

"Legal constraints on the indeterminate control of ‘dangerous’ sex offenders in the community: an English human rights perspective " (2016) 2 Erasmus Law Journal 55

"Justifying Indeterminate Detention – on what grounds? " (2016) Criminal Law Review 795-820

"The magnitude of the offender rehabilitation and “Through the Gate” resettlement revolution " (2016) Criminal Law Review 99- 115

"Joint enterprise: the implications of an unfair and unclear law " (2015) Criminal Law Review 252-269

"The right to self-representation in English criminal law" (2102) 83 Revue International de Droit Penal 357-375

"Recalling conditionally released prisoners in England and Wales " (2012) 4 European Journal of Probation 34-45

"An Entente Cordiale in Sentencing? " (2011) 175 Criminal Law and Justice Weekly 239-42, 256-9, 271-4 and 290-293

"Time to Bury the Custody “Threshold”? " (2011) Criminal Law Review 593-612

"Drogues, criminalite et pronounce des peines en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles" (2009) 31 Archives de Politique Criminelle 221-238

"Parole and early release: the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 changes in context " [2009] Criminal Law Review 166-187

"The implementation of the European Arrest Warrant in England and Wales " (2007) 3 European Constitutional Law Review 253-268

"The Parole Board in Transition " (2006) Criminal Law Review 3-22

"The Revolving Door at the Prison Gate: Exploring the dramatic increase in recalls to prison " (2006) 6 Criminology and Criminal Justice 329-352

"A little legal knowledge - a dangerous thing or a key management tool?" (2002) 142 Prison Service Journal 2 - 5

"Turning Academics into Teachers? " (1998) 3 Teaching in Higher Education 133-142

"Up the Ladder: Why do women get off?" (1997) Cambridge (the Journal of the Cambridge Society)

Book Chapters

"Prisoner Resettlement in England and Wales", Prisoner Resettlement in Europe , 2019)

"The game of crime and punishment", Games: Conflict, Competition, and Cooperation , 2019)

"Sentencing and Punishment in Japan and England: A Comparative Discussion" (with Weitzdorfer J and Shiroshita, Y), Crime and Justice in Contemporary Japan , 2018)

"England and Wales: an uncertain relationship with European institutions" (with S. Creighton, and R. Pirosa) in Cliquennois, G and de Suremain, H (eds) (ed(s)), Monitoring Penal Policy in Europe , 2017)

"Preventive Sentencing", Contemporary Sex Offender Risk Management, 2017)

"PUTTING THE HUMAN INTO SENTENCING RESEARCH: LAW IN PRACTICE, NOT JUST LAW IN BOOKS", Humanisme et Justice , 2016)

"The English jury: issues, concerns and future directions", The Psychology of Crime, Policing and the Courts , 2016)

"Reflections on sentencing in England and Wales", The Psychology of Crime, Policing and the Courts , 2016)

"Dominant executive decision-making: England and Wales: Does it matter who enforces English sentences", Offender release and supervision: the role of courts and the use of discretion, 2015)

"Article 8 and the rehabilitation of offenders: a view from Cambridge, England", Liber Amicorum : Essays in Honour of President Spielmann , 2015)

"Surveillance électronique en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles : l’heure d’une réévaluation ?", Droit Pénal et Nouvelles Technologies, 2015)

"Front Door and Back Door Sentencing", Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice , 2014)

"Exploring or Measuring the Success of Sentencing Guidelines", Sentencing Guidelines: Exploring the English model , 2013)

"Out of court, out of sight? Criminal sanctions and non-judicial decision-making" (with Morgan, R and Maguire, M) in Maguire, M., Morgan, R. and Reiner, R. (ed(s)), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology , 2012)

"Alternative futures for the magistracy?", The Magistracy at the Crossroads, 2012)

"Intoxication as a sentencing factor: Mitigation or Aggravation?", Aggravation and Mitigation at Sentencing, 2011)

Reports

Parole: Reflections and possibilities A discussion paper (2018, Howard League for Penal Reform

Exploring the barriers to release: Stage Two of an Exploratory Study (Parole Board oral hearings 2016-2017)

Exploring the barriers to release: Avoiding or managing risks. Report of a Pilot Study (Parole Board oral hearings 2016)

Understanding Recall 2011

Non-natural deaths following prison and police custody: Data and Practice Issues, 2016 (Equality and Human Rights Commission) co-author with Jake Phillips, Loraine Gelsthorpe and Sarah Buckingham

The JAP: lessons for England and Wales?

Deaths on Probation: an analysis of data regarding people dying under probation supervision

The sentencing, management and treatment of ‘dangerous’ offenders