Why lived experience has always shaped criminal justice, and why that matters

The Myth of Newness in Lived Experience Leadership

In recent years, people with lived experience of criminal justice systems have adopted roles as peer mentors, advisors, researchers and policy contributors. These developments are often framed as cutting-edge. However, our recent research reveals that this framing is misleading. Archival and documentary evidence shows that criminalised people have been shaping justice systems for at least two centuries; acting as custodial contributors, caregivers, defenders of rights and game changers (Buck et al., 2026).

This matters because when we treat lived experience leadership as new, we risk misunderstanding its roots and potential as a powerful form of expertise.

Key insight: Lived experience is not an innovation to be adopted; it is a knowledge tradition that has been repeatedly overlooked.

Recovering a Hidden History

The history of lived experience in criminal justice has been selectively forgotten. From prisoner self-governance initiatives to mutual aid and advocacy, there is a persistent but uneven record of participation and influence. We identified four recurring roles that people with lived experience played across the 19^th century:

• Custodial contributors: using their skills to shape daily practices inside institutions
• Caregivers: supporting others through peer-based assistance
• Defenders of rights: advocating against injustice and poor conditions
• Game changers: driving systemic reform and new ways of thinking

These roles illustrate that lived experience has been central to how systems have functioned, adapted and sometimes resisted change over time. Yet, these contributions have often been under-recognised or excluded from official records. As a result, contemporary policy debates start from the wrong premise: that inclusion is experimental rather than historical.

Why Recognition Matters Now

The stakes of misrecognition are significant. Today, criminal justice systems face complex challenges: overcrowding, health and safety crises and inequality. There is growing recognition that involving people with lived experience can lead to more effective and equitable policy and practice (Criminal Justice Alliance, 2019; Penal Reform International, 2024). But inclusion alone is not enough. The question is not whether lived experience should be involved, but how.

Too often, participation is limited to consultation or storytelling, rather than shared decision-making or leadership. This risks tokenism, where voices are included but not empowered.

Understanding history changes this dynamic. It shows that lived experience leadership has long been about agency, not just representation. It has involved organising, resisting and reshaping systems.

Key insight: Meaningful reform requires shifting from ‘including voices’ to recognising lived experience as a form of leadership and knowledge production.

From Participation to Shared Power

If lived experience leadership has always been part of criminal justice, then the real challenge is not introduction but redistribution of power. This requires moving beyond narrow engagement models towards coproduction and shared authority. Research shows that people with lived experience bring unique insights into what works well, what harms and what could be done differently; insights that cannot be provided by external expertise alone (NPC, 2023).

However, barriers persist:

• Structural exclusions (e.g. vetting, employment restrictions)
• Cultural resistance within institutions
• Unequal recognition of expertise

Addressing these barriers requires systemic change and mindset shifts: from seeing lived experience as supplementary to foundational. In practice, this means:

• Embedding lived experience expertise in leadership roles
• Investing in pathways for progression into senior decision-making
• Valuing experiential knowledge alongside professional and academic knowledge

Global Momentum

This shift is not happening in isolation. Across international forums, including recent global probation and parole discussions, there is growing emphasis on placing lived experience at the centre of reform agendas. Yet, momentum alone is not enough. Without a clear understanding of the historical foundations, there is a risk that current enthusiasm will repeat past patterns of marginalisation. The challenge for practitioners and policy makers is to ensure that this moment becomes a structural shift rather than a temporary trend.

What Comes Next for Research and Practice

First, research must continue to recover and document the hidden histories of lived experience, reshaping how knowledge in criminal justice is understood.

Second, institutions must critically examine how they engage with lived experience:

• Who is included?
• On what terms?

Third, there is a need to build sustainable infrastructures for lived experience leadership; moving beyond short-term projects to long-term systemic integration.

Key insight: The challenge for criminal justice is to include lived experience safely, meaningfully and in ways that avoid repeating past patterns of tokenism and exclusion.

Takeaways for Readers

The idea that lived experience-led criminal justice is ‘new’ is not just inaccurate, it obscures a rich history. By recognising the depth and continuity of lived experience leadership, we can move towards a more inclusive model of criminal justice that values all forms of knowledge and shares power more equitably.

• Lived experience leadership in criminal justice has deep historical roots.
• Recognising this history challenges tokenistic approaches to inclusion.
• Meaningful change requires shifting from participation to shared power and leadership.
• The next decade will reveal whether lived experience is taken seriously as expertise or treated as second-rate and over-monitored.

At the University of Chester, this cutting-edge research is directly shaping how we prepare future practitioners, ensuring students engage with real-world insights and learn to work critically, ethically, and collaboratively with lived experience in practice.

About the author

Gill Buck is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Chester and Principal Investigator on a £1.1m UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship study of lived experience led criminal justice. She collaborates extensively with people affected by the justice system, academics, policymakers and practitioners to develop more equitable and participatory approaches.