Should ‘gut feeling’ be used to make decisions in drugs policing?

In this episode, Rob and Penelope are joined by Dr Bisi Akintoye, lecturer at the University of Roehampton, and Professor Alex Stevens, University of Sheffield, to discuss how we police drugs. They cover stop and search, different options for dealing with drugs offences, and the impact of over-policing on community relations.

Dr Bisi Akintoye

Read Bisi’s work on racialised policing here: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/97098/

Dr Alex Stevens

Read about Alex’s research into drugs diversion and reoffending here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/13/drug-diversion-schemes-reoffending-rates-police

Further resources

See more of Transform Justice’s work on diversion here: https://www.transformjustice.org.uk/focus-areas/resolving-crime-out-of-court/

Transform Justice

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The Transform Justice podcast is hosted by Penelope Gibbs and Rob Allen and produced and edited by Alexandra Kimmons.