The 27th Annual McWilliams Probation Lecture with Lord Timpson OBE

The speaker was Lord Timpson OBE, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending. Lord Timpson spoke on the theme ‘Probation's Crucial Role in an Evolving Criminal Justice System’. 

Lord Timpson (OBE) was appointed Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending on 5 July 2024. Prior to his appointment he held the position of chief executive of the Timpson Group, from 2002 to July 2024, a company which is known for advocating for the employment of former prisoners. Lord Timpson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2011 for services to training and employment for disadvantaged people. He was made chair of the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR) until 2016, and became the chair of the Prison Reform Trust that same year. He also founded the Employment Advisory Board network across the prison estate, which links prisons with employers to improve the employment opportunities for former offenders upon release.

Many of the past McWilliams Probation lectures can be viewed here https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/events/mcwilliamsmemoriallecture. 

There is a LinkedIn group for friends of the lecture series and you are welcome to join this https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8361177/

This year’s lecture was supported by the Justice and Society Research Centre at the Institute of Criminology, and by the Probation Institute. The Clarke Hall fund has given generous financial assistance. The lecture series has been sustained over the years by donations from our friends and supporters. Should you be interested in making a donation, you can contact the Treasurer, Jane Dominey, at jad78@cam.ac.uk for the relevant details.