Criminal Justice

The criminal justice sector is increasingly informed about the operation of the stress system and the ways in which childhood trauma alters how it functions. The inability to self-sooth dysregulated stress states risks precisely the kinds of behaviours that lead one toward involvement with the justice system.

Suzanne’s work within this sector seeks to inform lawyers, judges, policymakers and justice support organisations about the biology that underpins behaviour. She has trained judges, delivered keynote addresses at justice conferences, written reports for defence teams, and contributed to documentary films on the links between trauma, care and imprisonment. Given the scientific discoveries of the few decades, she believes that justice and fairness are impossible in the absence of a trauma-informed perspective.

She likes being part of a professional community willing to step into such edgy territory. For example, Ian Smith, one of the lawyers who has pioneered the trauma-informed shift in Scotland, has celebrated Suzanne’s ability to “explain the science and illuminate its relevance for the legal community”. Journalist Karin Goodwin has highlighted her emphasis on the “cultural ideas about bad behaviour” that will need to shift if we are to achieve the kinds of changes within the justice system that campaigners are hoping for. There is certainly plenty of scope for conversation in the years to come.