The University of Westminster’s Convict Criminology at Westminster initiative celebrated the graduation of prisoners and prison staff from the Criminology BA course at HMP Pentonville Prison on 14 April.
The programme, titled the Making Links project, was developed in 2016 by Dr Andreas Aresti, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Dr Sacha Darke, Reader in Criminology, in partnership with Jose Aguiar, Prison Educator at HMP Pentonville. The project runs the Criminology module at Pentonville, allowing prisoners and prison staff to achieve a nationally recognised qualification while breaking down stigma and social barriers.
The 11-week course runs twice annually, and ten inside students have celebrated their graduation on this occasion. All received 20 credits and a Level 3 or undergraduate foundation degree level certificate. To celebrate these outstanding achievements, the loved ones of the inside learners were also able to take part in the graduation ceremony at HMP Pentonville.
