Professor David Wilson
Email: david.wilson@bcu.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 121 331 6616
Bio & Interests
David Wilson followed a successful career as a Prison Governor at a variety of prisons including HMPS Wormwood Scrubs and Grendon and HMP Woodhill - where he designed and managed the two units for the 12 most disruptive prisoners in the country.
Latterly he was Head of Prison Officer and Operational Training in the Prison Service - on whose behalf he made official visits to Northern Ireland and the USA, and on behalf of the Council of Europe to Albania, prior to joining the University.
He has published widely on the CJS generally and prisons specifically, and is the Editor of The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. He appears regularly on the TV and radio both as a commentator about the Criminal Justice Service (CJS) and as a presenter.
David's interests range from practical interventions in current debates in criminal justice policy and practice, to more academic considerations of portrayals prisons and prisoners in literature. He has recently completed an assessment of Charles Dicken's reportage of prisons, to be published as 'Testing a Civilisation – Charles Dickens on the American Penitentiary System' in Essays in Honour of Professor W R Brock (forthcoming).
Research Supervison
- Penology
- Sex Offenders
- Serial Killing
Select Publications
David Wilson (with Keith Soothill) (2005), 'Theorising the Puzzle that is Harold Shipman' Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, December 2005; 16(4); pp 685-698
David Wilson (2005), 'The Cinematic Appeal of the Prison', in Clive Emsley (2005) The Persistant Prison: Problems, Images and Alternatives, pp 74-90, Francis Boutle London.
David Wilson (2005) Death at the Hands of the State, Howard League for Penal Reform.
David Wilson (2004), 'The Politics and Processes of Criminal Justice', in Cavendish Handbook of Criminology and Criminal Justice, pp 21-35, Cavendish Publishing.
Projects
David has just been engaged to conduct an evaluation of the 'Real Work' project - an initiative which seeks to assist in the re-integration of prisoners back into society by providing them with meaningful opportunities for 'real' employment whilst in prison.