Biography
- Name: Christy Coles
- University: King’s College London
- Title of research: Education and social care predictors of female re-offending trajectories: A UK administrative data linkage study.
- Flagship datasets using: Ministry of Justice and Department for Education data linked dataset.
- Supervisor: Dr Hannah Dickson and Dr Alice Wickersham.
Please tell us about your PhD project.
My PhD project is looking at the main patterns of female re-offending across the life course, examining how these patterns are associated with changes in educational attainment and finally exploring whether we can predict female re-offending patterns based on early education and social care factors. I hope that the project will help to inform early education and criminal justice system responses to female offending.
What is your key takeaway from the ADR UK PhD Annual Gathering 2025?
My key takeaway from the ADR UK PhD Annual Gathering was the importance of public engagement in our work. I am now planning to explore possibilities and opportunities for public engagement within my project.
Are there any speakers, session or presentation that particularly resonated with you? And why?
Dr Vickie Barrett’s presentation on offending trajectories of children in social care resonated with me. Her perspectives on the project through her lived experience as a teacher and probation officer were enlightening. I was interested to hear about her plans for public engagement and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of her research.
How has the event impacted your perspective on your research?
Attending the event has reaffirmed to me the importance of public engagement when using administrative data. It was also inspiring to hear about the PhD cohort’s projects and the progress that everyone has made.
Did the event inspire any new ideas for your current or future research? Can you please share with us your next steps for your research following the event?
The event has inspired me to really consider the key messages from my research and where I want these messages to be heard. My next steps are to write up my current results for publication and hopefully be able to present some results at conferences later this year.
