People who have experienced the criminal justice system are an interesting group of individuals for researchers and are therefore much sought after as research participants. As the researched whilst a prisoner and beyond, it has become increasingly clear how critical it is to shine a light on the inequitable power dynamics inherent within researcher-participant relationships, and raise questions over the reciprocity and ethicality of research with people in prison

For instance, what and whose endeavour are we actually participating in, and what control do we exert over the final product? Who owns and profits from the knowledge that is produced through involvement in research? Whose voices and views are privileged in the discourse? What are the risks of for prisoners in charting vulnerabilities and pain? Especially when it is well-intentioned and with a view to reducing marginality, how and why does research and academia reserve its position as guardians of thought and place its research participants in the margins?

How might we avoid concerns that collective and personal experiences of pain are often being extracted and stolen, manipulated and repackaged, How might we drive towards knowledge equity and avoid injustice in our own work practice? Is there a better alternative? Is it possible to see research and involvement as a process of reciprocal relationships, which includes a recognition that prisoners interaction with the CJS is rarely a choice?

This paper is concerned with how the contemporary university as an institution, and the associated working practices, shape the production of criminological knowledge. It argues that multiple epistemological positions are necessary to produce rich and useful criminological research, and examines how neoliberal pressures may serve to undermine the diversity of perspectives within the discipline, which in turn can limit our capacity to produce knowledge which speaks meaningfully to the concerns of marginalised social groups.