As a qualified lawyer Ellie is interested in how the law has shaped the experience of segregation and is adopting a socio-legal approach to her research.  She undertook her fieldwork in HMP Whitemoor, a high security prison, spending four months conducting interviews with prisoners and staff, as well as observing prison practices. During her fieldwork she explored:

(i) the processes involved in segregating individuals;

(ii) how segregation was typically used; and 

(iii) the experience of segregation.

Ellie hopes her work might prompt policy-makers to revisit the use of segregation, to consider avenues for reform and to re-imagine a better version of the English penal system.  

(Cambridge Society for the Application of Research)