Everyday Crime, Policing, and (In)Justice: Reinterpreting Historical Narratives at Ripon Prison & Police Museum

A WRoCAH funded Collaborative Doctoral Award between School of English at the University of Leeds and the Ripon Museums Trust.<br /> <br /> This project explores how historical narratives are constructed and how museums can actively represent them. Centred on Ripon's Prison & Police Museum, it critically interrogates dominant perceptions of policing and (in)justice, offering fresh ways to engage with the museum’s collections that encourage visitors to seek a fairer society. By uncovering stories embedded in the building, the lives of those once connected to it, and archival holdings—including issues of the Illustrated Police News, criminal records, and police handbooks—the project aims to reinterpret the past critically and bring to light overlooked or marginalised narratives. It complicates linear, celebratory histories of law enforcement and connects the past to the present. Drawing on interdisciplinary methodologies from literature, history, museum studies, archival theory and preservation, the research promotes a critical museological approach. It not only reinterprets the past but also interrogates the cultural and institutional frameworks through which the past is curated, remembered, and made meaningful to the present.

<p>Ripon Museums Trust (RMT) is one of few independent museums holding significant policing collections (i.e. not part of a police department or led by retired officers). This positionality offers a rare opportunity to gain critical distance regarding historical and present (in)justice in the policing system.</p> <p><br /> Much research on police museums has focused on those housed in modern police premises, exploring how these are carefully situated, both physically and ideologically, to reinforce the modern police force's legitimacy (e.g. Michelle Brown, The Culture of Punishment: Prison, Society, and Spectacle, NYU Press [2009]). The novelty of this project, in contrast, is that it is not a progressionist view of policing's technological improvements; it moves from top-down, institutional history to a democratised narrative of the buildings/people that constitute the historical life of the RMT site, and the role played by the institutions they represent in the lives of 19th- and 20th-century people in the area. RMT's unique museum cluster – Workhouse, Prison & Police Museum, Courthouse – offers an interconnected social commentary on crime, punishment and welfare that pushes back against Dickensian ideas of workhouses and prisons to challenge assumptions, with a focus on inspiring people to seek a fairer society. Leeds, the academic base of this project, has also been grappling with how its city publicly represents policing history and the liveness of emotions around reframing historical injustice: in 2022, the blue plaque of David Oluwale, hounded to his death by policemen in 1969, was stolen on the day it was unveiled.</p> <p>The project's research questions facilitate and sharpen connections between historical and contemporary policing. There are three intertwined strands: how did Ripon Liberty Prison become Ripon Police Station, which in turn became the Prison & Police Museum, and how might the history of the building play a part in encouraging reflection on the collection, the history of the local area, and the police? How has the history of the collection itself, begun in the 1980s, shaped the narrative about the police and their history, and what role does that narrative play today? What are the overlooked stories of the people associated with those different lifetimes as gaol, police station, and museum-especially the working class, 'everyday' stories?</p> <p>Policing items and documents make up 95% of the collection, but from its foundation in the 1980s to 2018 the collection was unmanaged, and museum interpretation has not been refreshed for at least a decade. Initial work has begun on rationalising, cleaning and digitising items; the student would have the opportunity engage in this process, shaping the collection's representation online and offline, and developing their own project by finding the most compelling stories in a collection of mugshots, notebooks, and record books from the 19th/20th centuries, and exploring possibly the most complete run of the Illustrated Police News in the UK.</p> <p>First published in 1864 and continuing weekly until 1938, the IPN had a reputation for sensationalising crime and was, as a result, very popular among readers of all classes. The student will enrich their reinterpretation of the RMT collections under the supervision of Dr Middleton at the University of Leeds by digging into popular representations of policing such as that offered by IPN during the 19th and 20th centuries to consider how the life stories of people connected with the Ripon prison and police station, drawn from original prison notebooks and wider research, compare and contrast with the public perception of policing in this period. This will offer the opportunity to integrate analysis of literature and journalism of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as consider the contemporary relevance of the policing museum in the modern world.</p> <p><u><strong>About Ripon Museums Trust</strong></u></p> <p><a href="https://riponmuseums.co.uk/">Ripon Museums Trust</a> was formed in 1982 by a small group of volunteers. The Trust’s mission is to use the unique trio of the Workhouse, Prison & Police and Courthouse Museums, alongside their collections and stories, to help people explore issues such as fairness, equality, justice and welfare. This is achieved through excellent engagement, programming and outreach. RMT aims to encourage people to be 'more knowledgeable, creative, compassionate, motivated and confident in their ability to make a difference', and 'to inspire people to seek a fairer society'.</p> <p>A key element of RMT's work is the importance of the fabric of its buildings, not just its collections. By exploring the museum's history as a gaol and police station, the PhD will enrich the understanding and representation of its material heritage.</p> <p>The Workhouse Museum is about to begin a major project, 'Inspiration for a Fairer Future', funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. After this, RMT will focus on reinterpreting the Prison & Police Museum. The PhD will act as scoping research for this next phase, allowing the student to collaborate on re-envisioning the museum's approach to prisons and policing. </p>

<p><strong>By 12 noon Wednesday 28 May 2025</strong>, applicants are required to submit to WRoCAH an Expression of Interest using the form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgOTj7dgwdfTN61QS_0XSQU1vmkydj6x0BbHmiuggttJAchA/viewform. Applicants should also include:</p> <ol> <li>A CV with details of academic qualifications</li> <li>A covering letter comprising a two-page statement to convey your motivation and enthusiasm for the project, and to demonstrate your suitability for your intended PhD studies with the University and Project Partner. The covering letter should specifically highlight the following:</li> </ol> <ul> <li>Your interest in the project and details on why you have chosen that University and Project Partner.</li> <li>How you will apply your current skills, knowledge and experience to undertake a PhD and the approach you would take to develop the project.   </li> <li>How the project fits into your career plans and ambitions.</li> </ul> <p><strong>By 17:00 UK time <u>Wednesday 4^th June</u></strong>, applicants should have submitted an application for PhD study. You can apply for a research place of study, through the online application form. Please state clearly that the name of the CDA project that you wish to be considered for. You will be expected to meet our eligibility criteria for PhD candidates (please see our entry requirements below) and provide all required supporting documentation. This will include the names and contact details of two referees, copies of transcripts of your academic qualifications and (if applicable) an IELTS certificate*.</p> <p>The short-list of candidates to be invited for an interview will be announced on <strong>Monday 9^th June 2025.  </strong></p> <p><strong>Interviews will take place on 23^rd or 24^th June 2025</strong>. Interviews will involve the academic supervisor, Project Partner supervisor and a member of the WRoCAH Studentships Committee. They will be conducted online.</p> <p>*If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

Applicants to PhD research degree programmes should normally have a Master’s degree and at least a first class or an Upper Second Class Bachelors Honours degree. If you hold relevant work, or other, experience the Faculty may consider this in lieu of a Masters qualification, please check with the relevant school prior to making an application. To study a Masters by Research degree you should hold, or currently be studying towards, a Bachelors Honours degree, in an appropriate discipline where your current or predicted award is at least a first class or upper second class degree. Applicants who are uncertain about the requirements for a particular research degree are advised to contact the Graduate School prior to making an application.

The minimum English language entry requirement for research postgraduate study is an IELTS of 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking), or equivalent. The test must be dated within two years of the start date of the course in order to be valid. Some Schools, such as the School of Media and Communications, have a higher requirement.

<p>A WRoCAH funded Collaborative Doctoral Award between School of English at the University of Leeds and the Ripon Museums Trust.</p> <p>For detailed information, please see the link to the project between the University of Leeds and the Ripon Museums Trust <a href="https://wrocah.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/CDA2505-Everyday-Crime-Policing-and-InJustice_-Reinterpreting-Historical-Narratives-at-Ripon-Prison-Police-Museum.pdf">here</a>.</p> <p>Studentships for doctoral research are 40 months in duration for full-time study. Awards are subject to satisfactory academic progress. Awards must be taken up in October 2025 or January 2026; no further deferrals are possible as this is the final round of recruitment to WRoCAH CDAs. Awards will comprise fees at Research Council rates and a tax- and national insurance-free maintenance grant (£20,780 in 2025/26). The grant pays the fees at the Home/UK rate; international students are, however, eligible to apply for this Studentship, and the University of Leeds will cover the difference between the Home/UK and International fees. Awards may be taken up on a part-time basis if a student is eligible to undertake part-time study; international applicants may be required to study full-time under the terms of their visa.</p> <p>Please be aware that any expenses related to the relocation of international students to the UK (visa, insurance, NHS fees, flights, etc) would be their responsibility and is not covered by this award. </p>

<p>For more information about this project contact:</p> <ul> <li>Dr Emily Middleton (e.j.l.middleton@leeds.ac.uk)</li> <li>Dr Laura Allan (laura.allan@riponmuseums.co.uk)</li> </ul>