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Professor Helen Johnston

Biography Helen Johnston is an expert in the history of crime and punishment from 1750. She is the first female Professor of Criminology at the University of Hull. She has undertaken extensive research on local prisons, convict prisons and licensing/early release mechanisms.

She has researched the experiences of both prisoners and staff and the evolution of prison architecture.

She is also interested in crime and criminal justice heritage and the preservation, presentation and dissemination of crime heritage in museums, archives and heritage sites.

She has been Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on a range of funded research projects supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust.
Research Interests
Histories of crime and punishment, particularly prisons and imprisonment and other custodial settings. Interested in people's experiences of and interactions with the criminal justice system. I have researched short-term and long-term imprisonment as well as early release and licensing mechanisms and prison architecture. Currently exploring the impact of the Second World War on the prison system and researching the criminal justice and penal outcomes for girls and young women in the twentieth century.
Teaching and Learning Histories of Punishment; Punishment, Dangerousness and Risk; Contemporary Imprisonment.
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
PhD Supervision Availability Yes
PhD Topics I welcome applications in the fields of punishment, penal policy and contemporary imprisonment as well as studies on the history of crime, policing and punishment.

Completed PhDs:

Maria De Angelis (2012), Trafficking and Prostitution: Victimhood and Agency (with Dr Majella Kilkey)
Samson Chan (2013), Colonial Penality: A Case Study of Hong Kong Penal Policy, 1945-1997 (with Professor Peter Young)
William Davies (2015), The Pains of Imprisonment and Resettlement for Short Term Prisoners (with Professor Peter Young)
Helen Nichols (2016), Adult Male Prisoners Experiences of Education (with Professor Gerry Johnstone)
Rachel Dixon-Goodall (2017) Expert Evidence in Cases of Infanticide, 1688-1955 (with Tony Ward).
Alicia Kidd (2018) The Dynamics of Contemporary Slavery and Conflict: Agency, Asylum and Accountability (with Simon Green).
Marion Wilson (2019) Grief and Bereavement in Prison (with Prof Liz Walker).
Rhiannon Pickin (2019) Emotions, Perceptions and Responses to Crime and Penal Heritage (AHRC Heritage Consortium with Leeds Beckett University, with Heather Shore).
Lucie Wade (2021)_Juvenile Crime, Punishment and Reform in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1856-1914 (AHRC Heritage Consortium with Leeds Beckett University with Simon Morgan).
Julie Brumby (2023) Reformatory and Industrial School Training Ships (NECAH with Leeds Beckett University).
Ndiweteko (Jen) Nghishitende (2024) ‘Freedom is a constant struggle’: Women’s lives after Modern Slavery, Wilberforce Institute (with Dr Alicia Heys).