About us

Professor (Hon) Helen Wakeling is a Chartered Research Psychologist, and Evidence-Based Practice specialist who is Honorary Professor of Applied Research in Forensic Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Helen worked for HM Prison and Probation Service for over 22 years. For the first 14 years she worked within Interventions Services, where she specialised in research into sexual offending, risk assessment, and the development and evaluation of interventions and psychometrics for men convicted of sexual offences. During this time, Helen was responsible for the assessments and appropriate targeting of accredited offending behaviour programmes delivered across custody and community settings. Helen was also a National and strategic leader in relation to risk assessment processes. Helen’s PhD focused on the predictive validity of psychometric assessments, which shaped the future use of these measures within HMPPS.

Helen then spent eight years as an Evidence Lead in the Evidence-Based Practice Team within HMPPS, supporting prisons, probation, youth custody, and HMPPS Headquarters to embed evidence into frontline practice. Within this role Helen conducted a series of original and robust research studies to build the evidence base in areas such as prison culture, desistance, young adults, substance misuse in prisons, psychosocial maturity and learning disabilities and challenges, and procedural justice. Helen also synthesised data and evidence into digestible formats and advice, consulting to practitioners, leaders, and policy makers to improve a wide range of outcomes. Helen has worked closely with staff from across Government and Public Services, including Ministers, policy teams, and operational staff, as well as with other researchers from the Ministry of Justice, universities, and other external organisations.

Helen has published extensively in peer reviewed journals, with over 60 publications in a variety of areas. Her research includes the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, and randomised controlled trials. Helen is on the editorial board of the Prison Service Journal, and also acts as an external reviewer for a number of peer reviewed academic journals.

Helen is an associate member of the HM Prison and Probation Service Correctional Services Advice and Accreditation Panel and is a Visiting Fellow at Buckinghamshire New University. Helen was recently awarded the 2024 British Psychological Society’s Division of Forensic Psychology (BPS DFP) Excellence in Forensic Psychology Research Award. 

Dr Georgia Barnett is a Chartered and HCPC Registered Forensic Psychologist and Evidence-Based Practice specialist, and is an experienced trainer, researcher, and consultant. Georgia worked for HM Prison and Probation Service for 22 years. She started out as a clinician in prisons delivering group-based and one-to-one interventions, offending behaviour programmes, psychometric testing, and actuarial and structured risk assessment.  Following this, she moved to Headquarters where she took on roles as the national clinical lead for an offending behaviour programme, national trainer, and quality and outcomes specialist and researcher.  

Georgia spent ten years as an Evidence Lead in the HMPPS Evidence-Based Practice Team.  She conducted research and synthesised data and evidence, and acted as a consultant and trainer to develop, embed, and evaluate HMPPS’ approach to women, young adults, staff well-being, managing behaviour in prisons, understanding and protecting against bias in decision making, and creating a diverse and inclusive organisational culture. During this time, she also designed and evaluated innovative approaches to reducing reoffending, improving prison safety, and supporting staff capability and confidence.  Georgia has worked on large organisational change programmes, and directly with a wide range of staff, including government Ministers, policy makers, operational leads and frontline prison and probation staff.  Georgia is a member of the Youth Custody Assurance Board, providing expert advice on the screening and assessment of interventions for children in custody, as well as an associate member of the HM Prison and Probation Service Correctional Services Advice and Accreditation Panel. 

Georgia has published a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research in a variety of areas, including forensic risk assessment, psychometric testing, internet-based sexual offending, the role of empathy in offending behaviour, what doesn’t work to reduce reoffending, identity change, and gender-responsive programming.  For her PhD Georgia designed and evaluated brief psychological interventions, leading a number of randomised controlled trials in prison and court settings. Georgia is on the editorial board of the Journal of Criminal Psychology and a peer reviewer for several academic journals. 

Georgia was recently awarded the 2024 British Psychological Society’s Division of Forensic Psychology (BPS DFP) Excellence in Forensic Psychology Research Award.

Dr Flora Fitzalan Howard is a Chartered and HCPC Registered Forensic Psychologist and Evidence-Based Practice specialist.  Flora worked for HM Prison and Probation Service for over 20 years.  For the first 10 years she worked in a high security prison, facilitating accredited offending behaviour programmes to address individuals’ risk of sexual reoffending, conducting extensive risk assessments with men convicted of sexual and violent crimes, and offering psychological advice and consultancy with regards to a range of issues experienced by the prison. 

Flora’s career subsequently took her to the centre of HMPPS, working as an Evidence Lead within their Evidence-Based Practice Team to support prisons, probation, youth custody, and the Service’s headquarters.  For almost 10 years she worked to embed evidence-based practice within all parts of HMPPS, working with colleagues at all levels across HMPPS and the Ministry of Justice, including Senior Leaders and Ministers, policy makers, operational colleagues working on the frontline.  Flora conducted original and robust research, designed and delivered training and coaching workshops, synthesised and translated the best available scientific evidence into practical insights and advice.  Through this, and extensive consultancy, her work shaped practice and policy to help HMPPS achieve better outcomes for the public, the people in its care, and for its staff.  Most notably, Flora led HMPPS’ drive to improve procedural justice practice and perceptions in the Service, including conducting national and local research, directly influencing national policies and reforms, informing local practices within prisons and probation units, and designing and implementing a national training programme for colleagues. Flora is an associate member of the HM Prison and Probation Service Correctional Services Advice and Accreditation Panel.

Between 2021 and 2026 Flora was Editor of the Prison Service Journal.  The Prison Service Journal is a peer reviewed journal published by HMPPS. Its purpose is to promote discussion on issues related to the work of the Prison Service, the wider criminal justice system, and associated fields. During her career, Flora has published extensively, including research using both qualitative and quantitative methods, on subjects such as prison culture, procedural justice, rule-breaking/misconduct in prison, recall to prison, and electronic monitoring. 

Matthew Hurley is an experienced analyst and researcher specialising in evidence-led policy, commissioning, operational modelling and service improvement across the justice system. Matthew has worked across the Ministry of Justice, Youth Justice Board and HM Prison and Probation Service for over a decade. He began his career in Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Analytical Services, conducting economic appraisal of infrastructure investment projects and developing economic and financial business cases.

Matthew’s career subsequently took him into the Youth Justice Board Commissioning Directorate, later the Youth Custody Service, where he led economic and financial analysis for major commissioning decisions, including Secure Training Schools, Secure Children’s Homes and Advocacy Services for young people in Young Offender Institutions. During this period, he developed data models, operational performance templates, capacity modelling tools and dashboards used across the organisation, building a strong understanding of the operational realities of youth custody and the evidence needed to support effective service design.

From 2020 to 2024 Matthew worked in the MoJ and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) as a Data and Evidence Lead, conducting primary and secondary research to inform performance improvement across prisons and probation. His work included research into victims of criminal exploitation, where he conducted interviews and focus groups with prisoners and staff to better understand organisational ability to identify victims and provide support. Matthew has conducted research with a wide range of stakeholders, including children in the secure estate, female prisoners and staff from a range of professional roles.

Matthew’s analysis and research has been used widely within HMPPS to inform policy and strategic decision-making. Matthew led the data analysis and produced research to inform the redesign of Commissioned Rehabilitation Services, high-value contracts for private and third sector organisations delivering resettlement services to people on probation. Alongside this, Matthew product managed and worked with data scientists to design and embed a new web-based data visualisation tool for MoJ and HMPPS, combining risk, needs and responsivity data for people across prisons and probation to support more evidence-based commissioning and service design. 

Tracy Mapp is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA), UK-BA (Cert), qualified teacher (PGCE, QTS/QTLS), independent learning consultant, and doctoral researcher at the University of Kent. She has over two decades of experience working with children, young people, and adults with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and behaviours that challenge across education, home, community, and youth offending settings. Her experience includes senior leadership roles in Key Stage 4 and 5 alternative education provision, as well as overseeing community orders within youth justice services.  

Tracy has particular expertise in precision teaching, functional behaviour assessment, and behaviour-analytic programme development. Alongside her direct practice, she has provided training, coaching, and consultancy to parents, teachers, and multidisciplinary teams, supporting the dissemination and implementation of high-quality, data-informed, and ethically grounded practice. 

Her doctoral research focuses on improving basic literacy and numeracy outcomes in adult prisons in England, with particular emphasis on understanding and assessing the needs of autistic prisoners and prisoners with learning disabilities. Her broader work is centred on translating research into practical, evidence-based approaches that strengthen outcomes for vulnerable and underserved groups. 

Mary McFeely has had a career in public services, including senior leadership roles in the probation service and voluntary sector. She is an experienced senior manager, practice auditor, and qualified probation officer. 

Mary worked within community-based probation services in London which culminated in the leadership and management of probation delivery for north London and all court-related delivery across London. As part of the London Criminal Justice Board, she worked with all levels of the judiciary in London, and with the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Metropolitan Police.

Mary spent four years in HMPPS headquarters, reporting on a practice-related issues in prisons, and contributed to the creation of the future National Probation Service (NPS). The work to create the new NPS included development of the operational model for courts and victim work, and leadership of the work to process map all NPS operations and how they intersected with the then new Community Rehabilitation Companies. 

Most recently, for around a decade, Mary worked as a prison and probation practice auditor, across all parts of HMPPS, including the women’s and youth custody estates. She has extensive experience of working with and interviewing staff working in, and people subject to, the criminal justice system, including high-risk and complex cohorts, people with experience of trauma and learning disabilities, people convicted of a wide type of offence types, young people, and women.