About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Applied Criminology, Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Criminology course, and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) with the British Psychological Society. Prior to my role here at the University of Derby, I was a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University and held several posts there between 2016-2023. 

Teaching responsibilities

I am the Programme Leader for the BSc (Hons) Criminology degree and teach on a variety of modules across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Criminology, and other Social Sciences disciplines. I also supervise several MSc, MRes and PhD student research projects.

Research interests

My main research area is applied forensic psychology. My research experience is predominantly applied qualitative, prison-based research. My PhD was a mixed-method project, which focused on working with autistic individuals in prison-based interventions to address sexual offending. I am also currently involved with projects relating to the qualitative evaluation of prison-based offending behaviour programmes. 

Membership of professional bodies

• Chartered Membership (CPsychol) British Psychological Society 
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) Advance HE
• Member of the British Society of Criminology 

Qualifications

• PhD in Applied Forensic Psychology, Nottingham Trent University
• MSc Psychology (Conversion), University of Chester
• BA (Hons) Law with Criminology, Aberystwyth University

Recent conferences

• Vinter, L.P. (2023) ‘Autism in prisons: an exploration of lived experiences, challenges and needs’. Invited talk, to be presented at the Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System: Offending, Police Investigative Interviewing, Courtroom and Prison, ESRC Science Festival One-Day Conference. Salford, UK
• Blagden, N., Vinter, L.P., Clayton, J., Penford, E. (August, 2023) ‘Experiences of autism in prison-based interventions to address sexual offending’. Part of a symposium: ‘Rehabilitation and Reintegration for Men with Sexual Convictions: Compassion, Collaboration and Commitment’. Presented and chaired at the 17th International Association for the Treatment of Sexual Offenders (IATSO) Conference. Trondheim, Norway

Experience in industry

I have collaborated with a number of external professionals and organisations (e.g. HMPPS, ICCLR, NICJN), to advise and support professionals on how to best work with autistic individuals in a variety of forensic contexts. I have worked on projects related to developing online autism training packages for prison staff and adapting existing forensic materials/tools for use with neurodivergent individuals more generally. For example, most recently, I was commissioned to adapt an existing Safety and Support Planning (SASP) tool used in HMPPS, to make it more suitable for use with neurodivergent individuals, which is to be rolled out and implemented nationally across HMPPS services. Most recently, I have been involved with Ministry of Justice commissioned evaluations of two accredited prison-based offending behaviour programmes. 

In my consultancy role, my external work often involves delivering guidance, support and training to professionals working with autistic individuals in forensic contexts. For example, I have delivered autism and neurodiversity training workshops for prison staff across a number of HMPPS establishments and charitable organisations (e.g., Switchback and the Safer Living Foundation). 

International experience

In 2021-2022, I was invited to be a consultant on the International Centre on Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR) Advisory Panel for the ‘ASD Training in Corrections project, in collaboration with Correctional Service Canada, and Autism and/or Intellectual Disability Knowledge Exchange (AIDE) Network Canada. This involved co-designing and advising on developing online autism training for corrections (prison) staff in Canada: ‘Autism in Corrections’.

The online course created through this project is now being offered to Correctional Services Canada staff (across all Canadian federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions), to increase their awareness of the impacts of autism in correctional environments.

Recent publications

• Woodhouse, E., Hollingdale, J., Davies, L., Al-Attar, Z., Young, S., Vinter, L. P., Agyemang, K., Bartlett, C., Berryessa, C., Chaplin, E., Deeley, Q., Freckelton, I., Gerry, F., Gudjonsson, G., Mattison, M., McCarthy, J., Mills, R., Misch, P., Murphy, D., & Allely, C. (2024). Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience. BMC Medicine, 22(1), 1-30
• Rawdon, N., Vinter, L. P., & Wheatley, R. (2024). Exploring the experiences of an autistic male convicted of stalking: a case study approach. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology
• Vinter, L. P., Dillon, G., Winder, B., & Harper, C. (2023) A multi-perspective qualitative study about working with autistic individuals in prison-based interventions to address sexual offending. Sexual Abuse
• Vinter, L. P., & Dillon, G. (2023) Chapter IV: Autism in prisons. In: Smith, T., ed., Autism and Criminal Justice: The Experience of Suspects, Defendants and Offenders in England and Wales. Routledge
• Vinter, L. P., Dillon, G., & Winder, B. (2020). ‘People don’t like you when you’re different’: Exploring the prison experiences of autistic individuals. Psychology, Crime & Law, 29(3), 243-262
• Vinter, L. P., & Dillon, G. (2020) Autism and Sexual Crime. In: Hocken, K. Elliott, H., Lievesley, R., Winder, B., Blagden, N., & Banyard, P., eds., Sexual Crime and Intellectual Functioning. Palgrave Macmillan
• Dillon, G., Vinter, L. P., Winder, B., & Finch, L. (2018). ‘The guy might not even be able to remember why he's here and what he's in here for and why he's locked in’: residents and prison staff experiences of living and working alongside people with dementia who are serving prison sentences for a sexual
  offence. Psychology, Crime & Law, 25(5), 440-457