Gypsy and Traveller Experiences of Crime and Justice Since the 1960s: A Mixed Methods Study. January 2020 – December 2023
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [ES/S015280/1]
The aim of the multi-disciplinary Realities Checked Study was to provide the first systematic, comprehensive and historically grounded account of the crime and criminal justice experiences of Gypsies and Travellers in England since the 1960s. Offering a quantitative, qualitative and historical critique of popular representations that position Gypsies and Travellers as inherently criminal, the key objectives in producing this account were to understand, since the 1960s:
Gypsies' and Travellers' direct and vicarious perceptions and experiences of criminal victimisation, hate crimes, and offending over their lifetimes;
Whether subjective perceptions of racism and discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers play a part in offending behaviour and experiences of criminal justice processing;
The impact of the pains of criminalization, policing, punishment and imprisonment on Gypsy and Traveller individuals and communities; and
The rationales used by key professionals who have engaged with Gypsies and Travellers operationally and strategically in relation to crime, criminal justice, and social policy.
The research was based in Leeds, Norfolk, the South-East (London, Surrey, Sussex), and Devon and Cornwall and took place January 2020 - December 2023 with pauses during the pandemic. It used the following research methods: crime survey; oral histories with community members and prisoners; archival research; and interviews with professionals. The team followed the British Society of Criminology's Code of Ethics and the Oral History Society's (OHS) guidelines when carrying out this research. Approval was given by the LSE, University of East Anglia, and University of Plymouth's Research Ethics Committees. The researchers put in place measures to ensure complete confidentiality and anonymity for anyone who took part in this research. Friends Families Travellers, LeedsGATE, Rural Media, and TravellerSpace supported and facilitated the research study.
