Ben Cooper is joined by Dr Markus Gehrsitz and Sam Grant to talk about their latest research on post-release supervision of offenders and its impact on reoffending.
The backdrop to this study is that criminal justice systems across the UK have come under growing scrutiny as rising prison populations have placed sustained pressure on already stretched prison services. With overcrowding becoming an increasing problem, there has been growing interest in the role of community-based alternatives to time spent in custody, and whether they can better support long-term reductions in reoffending.
Read the full transcript here.
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Authors
Ben is an Economist Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute working across a number of projects areas. He has a Masters in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, and a degree in Economics from the University of Strathclyde.
His expertise lies in various economic modelling approaches, social care, and evaluating social impact for organisations across the private, public and third sector, particularly where evaluation requires intuitive approaches.
Markus Gehrsitz
Markus is a Reader in the Department of Economics at the University of Strathclyde. His research interests include health economics, labour and education economics, the economics of law and crime, and environmental economics.
Sam Grant
Sam is an applied economist who joined the Economics Department in April 2025 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. His research draws on administrative and big data sources to study labour economics and the economics of crime.