Lancaster-Warwick-Stirling node

The Lancaster-Warwick-Stirling node has links with a number of associated UK social science research projects, which are related to its research aims and are concerned with developmental change. The node provides extended support to these projects, offering advice and providing analysis of data.

There are currently four linked research projects:

1. Tracking Vulnerability and Resilience: Gambling Careers in the Criminal Justice System

Background: This ESRC/Responsible Gambling Fund jointly funded project directed by Corinne May-Chahal and Gerda Reith focuses on the interrelationship in gambling careers and criminal careers for a sample of prisoners. Internationally, incarcerated offenders are known to have higher rates of problem gambling with studies finding that up to one third of prisoners may be medium or high risk problem gamblers. This project will identify the nature and extent of connections between gambling and crime careers, including sources of resilience and vulnerability, in order to address and prevent further re-offending. Two wings in six prisons in England and Scotland will be screened using a questionnaire that includes the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a resilience measure and questions relating to offending and co-morbidity. The full sample of 400 women, 200 young offenders and 600 men will be tracked on the Police National Computer collecting data on offending history and re-offending over 12 months. Statistical analysis will identify crimes most frequently associated with problem gambling offenders, recidivism, resilience and co-morbidity.

Node involvement: To provide advice on the statistical analysis in terms of developmental trajectories, helping to write papers and presenting talks at conferences.

2. The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime

Background: The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime is a programme of research that aims to address a range of fundamental questions about the causes of criminal and risky behaviours in young people. The core of the programme is a major longitudinal study of a single cohort of around 4,000 young people who started secondary school in Edinburgh in the autumn of 1998. This cohort has been followed up over six yearly sweeps.

Node involvement: To aid with the production of research papers on the longitudinal aspects of the survey.

3. Analysis of foetal development data

Background: Foetal developmental data is obtained using ultrasound scans. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Nadja Reissland, a psychologist at Durham University. Typical studies in this area include whether smooth or jerky movements of the foetus are predictive of maternal stress, and what are the developmental pathways of facial expression gestalts.

Node involvement: To assist with longitudinal statistical analysis and the writing of joint research applications for further data collection and analysis. To write joint research papers.

4. Lancashire MADE project

Background: MADE (Multi-Agency Data Exchange) is a data warehouse tool for datasets that are relevant to crime and disorder in Lancashire. The MADE project was established in 2001 to help people living in Lancashire to make better-informed decisions about community safety issues in their neighbourhood and “to create a common collation and dissemination facility which will improve the speed and reliability of multi-agency information exchange for crime and disorder strategies and other multi-agency policies throughout Lancashire”.

Node involvement: As a contribution to this, researchers from Lancaster-Warwick-Stirling node of NCRM have conducted a descriptive analysis of the spatio-temporal distribution of crime in Lancashire.