Caught in a liminal space of editor and disruptor

This paper illustrates the complex liminal space of the author’s position in an edited collection of ex-prisoners writing a book about prison officer practice. ‘The Good Prison Officer: Inside Perspectives’ is a collection of voices from professionals involved in various aspects of the criminal justice system that were once prisoners. The author and editor of the work was indeed also an ex-prisoner turned Senior University Teacher at Leeds Trinity University – placing the editor in a unique position of disrupting the beholders of the narratives on prison officer practice, to operating within the requirements and expectations of the publisher and leading academic endorsers of the work. This research has undertaken a qualitative self-narrative methodological approach to ensure the articulation of best practice through the ‘lived experience.’ Within this complex research space, the author navigated the multifaceted liminal sphere of fellow ex-prisoner and editor of a book that was to be peer reviewed and endorsed by both prison officers and leading academics in the field of criminology – inevitably leading the author to negotiate each chapter through an emotionally sensitive lens. This complexity demonstrates both the benefits and challenges of lived experience research and criminological contributions to literature.