This paper outlines art form impacts used within Staging Time at an adult male sex offender prison in England by drawing on the voices of prisoners (aged 21–75 years), including those with undiagnosed autistic traits. We qualitatively investigate prisoner experiences from drama (n = 11), dance (n = 12), puppetry (n = 7) and singing (n = 15) projects using a theory of change approach. Based on a themed analysis of self-report data from 4 world cafés and 44 follow-up questionnaires, we conclude arts projects positively contribute to health and well-being, forming healthy relationships and prison culture. By applying a desistance theory lens, we argue arts projects provide building blocks towards crime abstinence. Whilst all arts projects improved prisoner well-being, dance had a greater propensity for increasing physical fitness. With a focus on dance impacts, our research widened to stakeholder and practitioner interviews (n = 4), alongside analysis of secondary data from dance performance audience feedback sheets (n = 48) collected by Staging Time. Audience members included prison staff, prisoners, prisoner family members and close friends and a small group of invited stakeholders. Arts projects have wider impacts on staff, other prisoners and family members.

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Purpose This paper aims to provide reflective practice insights on the use of the participatory approaches of World Café and Forum Theatre as crime prevention education and research tools with young people and young adults through a social learning theory lens. Design/methodology/approach Four independent case-studies showcase World Café and Forum Theatre methodology. World Café events investigated new psychoactive substances (NPS) awareness with young hostel users and college pupils (N = 22) and race hate crime with school and college pupils (N = 57). Forum Theatre events explored loan shark crime with college and university students (N = 46) and domestic abuse crime with young hostel users and college and university students (N = 28). Anonymous survey data produced qualitative and descriptive statistical data. Findings Learning impacts from participatory crime prevention education and research events were evidenced. Participatory approaches were perceived positively, although large group discussion-based methodologies may not suit all young people or all criminological topics. Originality/value Participatory approaches of World Café and Forum Theatre are vehicles for social learning and crime prevention with young people and young adults; eliciting crime victimisation data; and generating personal solutions alongside wider policy and practice improvement suggestions. Whilst World Café elicited greater lived experience accounts providing peer-level social learning, Forum Theatre provided crucial visual role modelling for communicating safeguarding messages.

Reflecting on anti-poverty work within Stoke-on-Trent from a variety of academic perspectives, this special edition offers a place-based examination of action on poverty and hardship that seeks to link local, creative, place-based solutions to national and international anti-poverty agendas. Each article links to how the author(s) contribute to action on poverty and hardship in the potteries and reflects on national, place based anti-poverty perspectives. The special edition holds key themes around the need for place-based longitudinal investment, the imperative to work with communities, foregrounding the knowledge held by lived experience. In conclusion, Stoke-on-Trent is a community in which many of the authors live, all of whom work and one in which Gratton (2020) articulates that the University has made an institutional commitment to work in partnership with to address poverty. The articles also demonstrate that academics working in collaboration with the anti-poverty sector including people with lived and learned experience and alongside students can achieve positive change in a city, with recognition that more can be done locally to transform lives, neighbourhoods, transport routes and wider societal economic and well-being reform.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the tripart relationship between British police officers, Local Authority representatives and community members based on a Midlands neighbourhood case study. It focuses on experiences of the strengths and challenges with working towards a common purpose of community safety and resilience building. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected in 2019 prior to enforced COVID lockdown restrictions following Staffordshire University ethical approval. An inductive qualitative methods approach of semi-structured individual and group interviews was used with community members (N = 30) and professionals (N = 15), using a purposive and snowball sample. A steering group with academic, police and Local Authority representation co-designed the study and identified the first tier of participants. Findings Community members and professionals valued tripart working and perceived communication, visibility, longevity and trust as key to addressing localised community safety issues. Challenges were raised around communication modes and frequency, cultural barriers to accessing information and inadequate resources and responses to issues. Environmental crime was a high priority for community members, along with tackling drug-related crime and diverting youth disorder, which concurred with police concern. However, the anti-terrorism agenda was a pre-occupation for the Local Authority, and school concerns included modern slavery crime. Originality/value When state involvement and investment in neighbourhoods decline, community member activism enthusiasm for neighbourhood improvement reduces, contrasting with government expectations. Community members are committed partnership workers who require the state to visibly and demonstrably engage. Faith in state actors can be restored when professionals are consistently present, communicate and follow up on actions.