ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ

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, ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ. Victoria is a leading global expert on digital prisons. Victoria’s  ground-breaking research focuses on the development, implementation, and experiences associated with prisoner-facing digital technology.

Her comprehensive work encompasses several critical areas, including digital readiness of prisons, digital rehabilitation and desistance, and the ethical considerations of digitising prisons. Victoria is actively involved in consultancy roles with notable NGOs such as the United Nations’ UNICRI and Penal Reform International, and is currently contributing her expertise to projects with Thai and Namibian prisons.

Victoria co-led the significant "" report, which outlines essential steps for ensuring digital resources in prisons are both ethical and meaningful. Her innovative research portfolio also includes projects exploring the use of SMS text messaging in prisons. She frequently advises prison services and private prison providers on integrating digital solutions effectively.

In addition to her research and consultancy work, Dr. Knight serves as the Director of the Prison and Probation Research Hub at ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ. She previously convened the Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster. Victoria is also an author and editor, having published four books on various aspects of prisons. She co-edits journals such as Advancing Corrections, Prison Education and Re-entry, and has served as a guest co-editor for special issues on digital prisons. Victoria's extensive contributions continue to shape the future of digital prisons and rehabilitation, advocating for ethical and transformative practices worldwide.

Victoria is Director of the Prison and Probation Research Hub and was convenor of the Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster at ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ. She also supports impact case studies for Social Work and Social Policy as part of the REF exercise. She is also a member of the Athena Swan group in Applied Social Sciences and the faculty Work and Wellbeing group

Prison and Probation Research Hub- Director

Emotion and Criminal Justice Cluster- Convenor

.

• Prisons
• People in Prison
• Digital technologies
• Media audiences
• Emotion
• Digital inclusion and literacy
• Governance

• Research methods
• Sociology
• Media
• Media and Crime
• PhD supervision

• BA (Hons)
• MA
• PhD

• Doctoral Training Programme
• Justice Leaders - MA
• 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

PhD The role of in-cell television in a male adult prison, ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ Leicester 2012.

MA-  Independent Study in Media Studies, ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ Leicester 2001.

BA (Hons) - in Media, English and Politics, ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ Leicester 2000

Independent Monitoring Board HMP Leicester 2005-2021.

The Prison Service Journal - Editorial Board 2013-2021

Advancing Corrections Journal- Editorial Board 2017- date

Journal for Prison Education and Reentry

Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons (2023-date) UN ICRI

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.

 

 

2024: Keynote Speaker Digital Tech in penitentiary education Tbilisi, Georgia

2024: Keynote Speaker: UCL: Hope, Prison Education and Digital Technologies

2024: Keynote speaker: Women in Prison, TIJ Bangkok

2024: Keynote Speaker United Nations UNICRI Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons UNAFEI & Ministry of Justice Japan

2024: Keynote Speaker United Nations UNICRI Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons; UN Vienna

2024: Keynote speaker Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons : Technology in Corrections Conference April 2024: Plenary

2023: Keynote Speaker: Innovations in the Rehabilitation & Resocialization Process of Inmates & Probationers: High Level Conference Tbilisi Georgia Nov 2023

2023: Invite Speaker Thai Institute for Justice Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons

2023: Invited Speaker ICPA Corrections Technology Conference – Adelaide June 2023

1. Digital Maturity
2. Change management
3. Sweden’s digital strategy

2022: Invited Speaker: Europris Digital Maturity Istanbul April 2022

2022 Invited Speaker: HMPPS Insights Festival: Ethics of the Digital Prison May 2022 online

2022 CTA, St Louis, USA Digital Maturity June 2022

2021 Invited speaker: Emotions and Qualitative Data Analysis British Sociological Association

2021 Invited speaker: ICPA: Designing A Kindness Ecosystem for Digital Prisons

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

 

2017- invited panellist The e-prison- 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 Digital Technologies in Prisons- disparity and public acceptability with Toon Molleman Cologne The Effects of Imprisonment Working Group

 

2017- invited panellist and keynote speaker-

Presentations:

1. Public acceptability and service appetite

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

 

2016- The Role of Self and Emotions Within Qualitative Data Analysis (with Dr Irene Zempi) , 5-7 July 2016, University of Bath – seminar available on

Impact:

YouTube- 303 views

 

2016- Digitization and the prison Criminal Justice Management Conference London invited panel member Prison Reform- How can technology help drive rehabilitation?

 

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

 

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

 

2016- Digitizing the Prison: Added value of the use of internet by inmatesEuropris Workshop ICT in Prisons Sintra Portugal  - invited speaker

 

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

Department of Sociology Nottingham Trent University Seminar Seriesinvited speaker

 

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

 

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

 

2015-What in-cell digital technologies can do for our prisoners and prisons The Future of Criminal Justice Management ConferenceDecember 2015 University of Salford- invited speaker

 

2015- Modus Vivendi: The cell, emotions, social relations and television AAG 2015 Chicago Carceral Geographies IV: Gendered and Embodied Confinement- selected by

 

2015- Digital Landscape in European and American Corrections

- Invited Key Note Speaker EuroPris- Corrections Digital Technology Conference Barcelona

 

2015- Emotional Methodologies BSA Postgraduate Conference – University of Leicester  Invited Panel Member

2014- Researching Complexity: Social Domains and Emotion in Prison Research  European Sociology of Emotions Conference Rhodes Agean University

2014- A Good night out? Keeping Leicester City Safe- Festival of Ideas, ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ

2012- Journeys Across Media 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.

2009 - International Learning Conference- Barcelona: Issues of compliance in Education for Young Offenders

2009 - International Learning Conference- Barcelona: T-learning as vehicle for in-cell learning in prison- with Jean Hine. 

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 ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ 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

 

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

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

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.

 

 

 

 

Live Projects:

UNICRI: Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons: Developing jurisdictions  (2024- date)

SMS Text Use in Prisons- (2022-date)

Digital Desistance- Exploiting Technology in Criminal Justice Settings (2021-date)

Change management and modernisation in prison settings (2023-date)

Completed Projects:

UNICRI: Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons (2023-2024)

Digital Implementation stories- the case for Sweden (2022-2024)

Digital Maturity in Prisons: A Global Survey (2019-2023) including patent for tool development

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

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-date) PI £2000.00

The design of the prison cell- adviser for Australian research with University of Technology Sydney

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

 

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. PI £95000.00

 

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

 

Leading scholarship:

Co-director of UoA 20 for REF2021 and REF2028 2014-date

Co-director Institute for Criminology, Community, Education and Social Justice 2021- date

Director of the Prisons and Probation Research Hub at ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ 2019- Date

Director of the at ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ- annual conferences 2016 & 2018 and seminars

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

scholarship 2016-2018

Vice-chair for – 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 ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ’s annual arts festival

Nominated for Most Inspiring Researcher in Health and Life Sciences ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ 2019

 Consultations and advisory roles:

Ministry of Justice 2024

Chief Scientific Advisor 2024

Swedish Ministry of Justice 2025

United Nations InterregionalCrime Research Institute 2023

Thai Institue for Justice- training to senior managers 2023

Penal Reform International- consultant 2023

United Nations consultant on Digital Rehabilitation in Prisons 2023

Prison Reform Trust - advisor

Onboard Advisor G4S- Digital Prisons 2021-date

Onboard consultant Accenture Digital and Penal Policy 2020-date

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:

Submitted evidence to House of Lords UK Digital Exclusion (2023)

HMPPS White Paper (2020) - ÉëÒ÷Ö®Íõ PPHub Response

Invited to the School of Batman The Rebirth Of Blackgate Penitentiary

Presented evidence on - Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology 2016- Research Briefing

Member of the European Society of Criminology working group Prison Life & Effects of Imprisonment

Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed- TV and Live Music in Prison -May 2016

1 million listeners and available as a podcast (downloads continuing)

Book prize nomination- Ethnography and BSA prize with BBC 2017

Book prize nomination- BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize 2017 Award

Editor’s Pick Palgrave Macmillan 2016

TECH UK, Goggle UK, CGI- digital advisor

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.