Dr Amy Kirby — Birkbeck, University of London

Overview

Biography

Dr Amy Kirby is a Lecturer in Criminology and is based at the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR).

Amy completed a BA in Criminology at Lancaster University and an MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice at King's College London. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Surrey in 2019 for her study of lay participants’ perceptions of the legitimacy of the criminal courts, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Amy has 15 years' experience of conducting academic and policy-oriented research at ICPR. She has worked on projects focusing on lay participation, the criminal courts, youth justice and sentencing. This includes a 20-month ESRC-funded study of victims', witnesses' and defendants' experiences of the Crown Court and a study of the meaning of participation in courts and tribunals, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. She is currently co-investigator on a Nuffield funded study of Lived Experiences of the Law in collaboration with ICPR and Revolving Doors.

Amy's research has been published in monographs and academic journals, such as the British Journal of Criminology, the Criminal Law Review and Criminology and Criminal Justice. She has also co-authored policy-oriented outputs in collaboration with organisations such as Victim Support, Clinks and the Criminal Justice Alliance. She has been invited to present her work and provide expert comment to a range of academic, policy and practice audiences.

Highlights

Co-Investigator: Lived Experience of the Law: A Research and Policy Project (Nuffield Foundation)
Recently published: Kirby, A. (2024) Witnessing (Dis)engagement: A Framework for Understanding Legitimacy in the Criminal Courts, British Journal of Criminology, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azad009
Upcoming public engagement event: Panelist, 'Prevention and Diversion', Westminster Legal Policy Forum Keynote Seminar: Next Steps for Youth Justice in England and Wales, 24th June 2024.
Recent public engagement event: Panelist, Court Trial Process, The London Victim’s Commissioner Victims Summit. Chaired by Victoria Derbyshire, 10th March 2023.
Recent invited talk: Journal of Law and Society 50th Anniversary Lecture Series: Socio-Legal Studies and Criminal Justice, Centre for Law and Society, Cardiff University, 13th March 2024.

Web profiles

Dr Amy Kirby, ICPR

Administrative responsibilities

Admissions tutor - PGT Criminology programmes

Professional activities

Peer Reviewer: UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship

Peer Reviewer: Palgrave Macmillan (2023), International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice (2022), Journal of Child and Family Law (2022), Criminology and Criminal Justice (2021), International Journal of Victimology (2017), Sentencing Council (2016).

Guest Editor: Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Blog

Professional memberships

British Society of Criminology
Advance HE Fellow (FHEA)
Socio-Legal Studies Association

ORCID

0000-0002-5123-4320

Research

Research interests

Lay participation in the court setting
Legitimacy
'Court culture'
Lay adjudication
Victimology
Youth Justice
Joint enterprise
Public attitudes to crime, justice and sentencing
Qualitative research methods

Research Centres and Institutes

Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR)

Supervision and teaching

Supervision

Supervisions within Birkbeck:: 1

Areas of Research Supervision:

Lay participation in the courts
Legitimacy
Court culture
Victimisation
Youth Justice
Sentencing
Joint Enterprise
Empirical research using qualitative or mixed-method approaches

Teaching

Amy convenes the following modules in the School of Social Sciences:

Victims, Crime & Society (undergraduate)
Youth Justice (postgraduate)
Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice (postgraduate)

Teaching modules

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice (LADD059S7)
Youth Justice (LALA078S7)
Victims, Crime and Society (Level 5) (LALA154H5)

Publications

Article

Kirby, Amy (2023) Witnessing (dis)engagement: a framework for examining legitimacy in the criminal courts. British Journal of Criminology ISSN 0007-0955.
Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica (2022) Procedural justice in the courts. Clinks Evidence Library
Kirby, Amy (2017) Effectively engaging victims, witnesses and defendants in the criminal courts: a question of “court culture”?. Criminal Law Review 12, pp. 949-968. ISSN 0011-135X.
Jacobson, Jessica and Kirby, Amy and Hunter, Gillian (2016) Joint enterprise: towards clarity and transparency?. Criminal Law & Justice Weekly 180, pp. 557-559. ISSN 1759-7943.
Kirby, Amy (2016) Is volunteering for everyone? Volunteering opportunities for young ex-offenders. Safer Communities 15 (2), pp. 82-93. ISSN 1757-8043.
Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica and Hunter, Gillian (2016) Prosecuting joint enterprise cases: seeking ways through the fog?. British Society of Criminology Newsletters 79, pp. 11-15. ISSN 1759-8354.

Book

Jacobson, Jessica and Hunter, Gillian and Kirby, Amy (2015) Inside Crown Court. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. ISBN 9781447317050.

Book Section

Kirby, Amy (2020) Conceptualising participation: practitioner accounts. In: Jacobson, Jessica and Cooper, Penny (eds.) Participation in Courts and Tribunals: Concepts, Realities and Aspirations. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. ISBN 9781529211290.
Hough, Mike and Kirby, Amy (2013) The role of public opinion in formulating sentencing guidelines. In: Ashworth, A. and Roberts, J.V. (eds.) Sentencing Guidelines: Exploring the English Model. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 140-156. ISBN 9780199684571.

Monograph

Hunter, Gillian and Jacobson, Jessica and Kirby, Amy (2018) Judicial perceptions of the quality of criminal advocacy: report of research commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board. London, UK: Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Jacobson, Jessica and Kirby, Amy and Hunter, Gillian (2016) Joint enterprise: righting a wrong turn?. London, UK: Prison Reform Trust.
Jacobson, Jessica and Hunter, G. and Kirby, Amy (2015) Structured mayhem: personal experiences of the Crown Court. London, UK: Criminal Justice Alliance.
Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica (2015) Evaluation of the pre-sentence RJ pathfinder: February 2014 to May 2015. London, UK: Restorative Solutions.
Wigzell, Ali and Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica (2015) The Youth Proceedings Advocacy Review: Final Report. London, UK: Bar Standards Board.
Jacobson, Jessica and Skrine, Oonagh and Kirby, Amy and Hunter, Gillian (2014) Crime and ‘Community’: exploring the scope for community involvement in criminal justice. N/A London, UK: Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London.
Gibbs, P. and Kirby, Amy (2014) Judged by peers? The diversity of lay magistrates in England and Wales. Howard League Working Paper 6/2014 London, UK: Institute for Criminal Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of London.
Kirby, Amy and Jacobson, Jessica and Hunter, Gillian (2014) Effective participation or passive acceptance: How can defendants participate more effectively in the court process?. Howard League Working Paper Howard League for Penal Reform.
Hunter, Gillian and Jacobson, Jessica and Kirby, Amy (2013) Out of the shadows: victims' and witnesses' experiences of attending the Crown Court. London, UK: Victim Support.
Gyateng, Tracey and Kirby, Amy and Webster, Russell and Hunter, Gillian (2012) Assessing young people in police custody: an examination of the operation of Triage schemes. Home Office Occasional Paper 106 London, UK: University of London.
Jacobson, Jessica and Kirby, Amy (2012) Public attitudes to youth crime report on focus group research. London, UK: The Home Office.

Business and community

Outreach

March 2023: Panelist, Court Trial Process, The London Victim’s Commissioner Victims Summit. Chaired by Victoria Derbyshire.

March 2024: Panelist 'Technology, Transparency and Criminal Justice' event, Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.

January 2023: Procedural Justice in the Courts Live Q&A, Clinks Evidence Library