Vickie Barritt

Vickie joined the Department for Sociological Studies in 2021, following a 15-year career developing criminal justice projects in Local Authorities, the Police, and a Third Sector Voluntary organisation. Prior to this she gained a First-Class Honours Degree in Criminology and more recently a MA in Social Research. Vickie’s curiosity into the role literacy plays within the criminal justice system was sparked when her son started school and he began to learn how to read. This curiosity shaped her PhD research project, where she will partner with a regional Probation Service to explore how probation practitioners consider and respond to literacy needs. As there has been very little research over the last 30 years to understand criminal justice responses to literacy needs and even less in the probation service, Vickie has a particular interest in operationalising her research findings.