CARA Conference

16th September 2025

Lecture Theatre 003

9am - 4pm

"Turning that ship around"

Pathways through prevention, rehabilitation and recovery, for the justice-involved

From community resolutions to decarceration, 'Turning that ship around' is a one-day national conference that explores ways to improve outcomes for families involved with the criminal justice system.

As part of the event, will be sharing the findings from a national evaluation of Project CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse). The CARA scheme was developed in 2011 as a conditional caution offered by the police to adults involved in first time offences of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) of standard or medium risk - as a way of intervening and preventing further domestic violence and abuse amongst first time offenders.

Since 2021, researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Southampton, University of Northumbria, Newcastle University, University of Leeds Beckett and University of Sheffield have been working on funded research with The Hampton Trust, Restorative Solutions and Police Forces from across the UK, on the impact of Project CARA.

The event will launch key findings from the CARA study, bringing research evidence for the first time from victim-survivors, clients and those delivering CARA.

Throughout the day we will also be hosting key speakers, and parallel workshops, that aim to promote debate and shared learning on prevention, rehabilitation and recovery for those involved with the criminal justice system. The conference is relevant for anyone working within the criminal justice system (CJS) but it will also have wider appeal to public health and social care organisations and professionals.

The CARA conference is also being supported by Northumbria University, the Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE), Newcastle City Council Combatting Drugs Partnership and representatives of Northumbia University Gendered Violence and Abuse Interdisciplinary Research Theme.

Our programme will be focused on exploring:

The role and impact of community resolutions, including out-of-court resolutions, on reducing offending behaviours and promoting life chances and health;

How successful rehabilitation and recovery can prevent the cycle of reoffending;

How we can deliver meaningful and cost-effective solutions to ensure better outcomes for victims and their families;

How we can better orientate policy and processes to support children of a justice-involved parent.

Part of the day will be concerned with facilitating a large consultation session where you will be given the opportunity to share your ideas on policy practice and the needs of families and different family members involved in the CJS. On the day of the conference, we will also be joined by two “live artists” who will develop a mural in real time that captures the themes, learning and recommendations. Find out more about the artists here.

Schedule

When	What	Who
9:00am	Welcome and registration
9.30am	Conference introduction	Dr William McGovern and Donna Kay
9.45am	Opening Speaker	TBC
10:00am	Project CARA	Chris Partridge, Emma Hazan, Dr Sara Morgan, Dr Rasiah Thayakaran and Professor Tracey Young
11.00am	BREAK
11.30am	Breakout sessions - morning
	1) Exploring the role of family ties in supporting the health and wellbeing of parents and children impacted by imprisonment 2) Outcome Study: CARA Paper Professionals 3) Gangs, serious youth violence, child criminal exploitation and Drill music: A regional perspective	Dr Steph Scott Dr Hayley Alderson Dr John Cavener
12.15pm	LUNCH
1.15pm	Opening presentation: rehabilitation and reparation	Kam Stevens
1.45pm	Project CARA findings: Presentation two - victim perspectives	Lydia Lochhead
2.15pm	BREAK
2.35pm	Breakout sessions - afternoon
	1) Performing Gendered Justice: Judicial Dynamics in Problem Solving Courts for Women 2) Children Heard and Seen 3) Female Offending Caused by Coercive Control Project	Dr Sarah Waite and Dr Alexandria Bradley Sarah Burrows/James Ottley Professor Vanessa Bettinson
3.15pm	Opening questions and panel	Host: Professor Monique Lhussier
3.45pm	Closing remarks	Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Dr Ali Heydari (delivered virtually) Professor Rachel Armitage

Speakers

The presentations and breakout sessions will be interactive and they will include contributions from a range of topics, subject and discipline areas.

Funding

The evaluation of Project CARA was funded by the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) National Priority Research Consortium for Health and Care Inequalities.