Thesis: They All Come Out: Mapping the Desistence Journeys of 150 prison-leavers over 18-months
Supervisor(s): Professor Heather Hamill and Professor David Kirk
Helen Kosc is a Doctoral Student at the Sociology Department. She joined upon completing her MSc at Oxford in the 2020-2021 academic year. She is from Toronto, Canada and has extensive experience working with, and volunteering for, Correctional Services Canada (CSC).
For her Doctoral research, Helen has conducted an unprecedented, long-term and large-scale ethnographic study of the resettlement of 150 prison-leavers from one male, category B prison, over 18 months. Conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, HMPPS, and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, this study offers valuable insight into the mechanisms that contribute to the desistance vs persistence of criminal activity, offering an up-close, micro-scale study of resettlement, and contributing to the ongoing theoretical debates about behavioural change more broadly. Helen's study offers a rich and valuable account of the experience of prison resettlement at a time when this data could not be more relevant and useful.
Beyond her Doctoral work, Helen has had extensive research experience in the field of criminal justice: she was a Research Assistant for the largest experimental audit study measuring discriminative hiring of ex-offenders in Europe, with Dr Marti Rovira. She co-authored a chapter in the newest Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Crime and Justice Policy, with Professor David Kirk. She worked in collaboration with Police Scotland and the University of Cambridge's Dr Miri Zilka, investigating the use of data science and advanced technologies in policing practices. Helen was a Visiting Scholar at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, and serves on the Editorial Board of the ‘Advancing Corrections’ Journal.
Research Interests: Criminology; socio-legal studies; re-entry & reintegration; prison reform; criminal justice policies & practice
Fellowships & Awards:
Adam Smith Doctoral Fellowship, The Mercatus Center (2023-2024)
Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund, Fellow (2023-2024)
Institute of Humane Studies, Doctoral Grant Recipient (2023-2024)
Elinor Ostrom Doctoral Fellowship, The Mercatus Center (2022-2023)
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Finalist (2022)
Best Student Paper Award, Canadian Sociological Association (2022)
Publications:
Kosc, H. (2025). ‘A discussion of the role of disadvantage in the desistence from crime’, paper presented at the Confederation of European Probation Workshop on Transition from Prison to Probation.
Kosc, H. (Forthcoming). A Chronopolitics of Desistance: Mapping the Resettlement Journeys of 150 Prison-Leavers over 18 Months. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oxford.
Kosc, H. (In Press). ‘Violent Disclosure: A Study of Men Asking for Help in Prison’, In Phillips, Ricciardelli & Novisky’s Routledge Handbook of Wellness in Criminal Justice.
Kosc, Helen (2024, In press). "The Road to Resettlement: Life After Prison", In J.V. Roberts (ed.) Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader. 7th edition. Toronto: Emond Publications.
Kosc, Helen & Kirk, David. (2024). ‘Making Prisoner Reentry Evidence-Based’, The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-Based Crime and Justice Policy, 326-348 https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-evidence-based-crime-and-justice-policy-9780197618110?cc=gb&lang=en&#
Kosc, Helen. (2024). ‘A Home for Christmas: Leaving Prison Amidst a National Housing Crisis’, British Society of Criminology Blog. https://thebscblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/a-home-for-christmas-leaving-prison-amidst-a-national-housing-crisis/
Kosc, Helen. (2023). ‘Rehabilitating Reintegration: Research and Reflections on What Works’, in What is Effective Reintegration? Advancing Corrections Journal, 15, 12-18. https://icpa.org/resources/advancing-corrections-journal.html
Kosc, Helen. (2023). ‘They All Come Out: Mapping the Desistence Journeys of 200 Men Leaving HM Prison Bullingdon over 18 Months’, International Corrections & Prisons Association Annual Conference, presentation can be viewed here: https://icpa.org/resource/icpa2023-pid077-helen-kosc.html
Kosc, Helen. (2021). ‘Outsourcing Responsibility: A Review of Virginia Eubanks’ ‘Automating Inequality: How High- Tech Tools Profile, Police and Punish the Poor,’” St Antony’s International Review, 16(2), 377-380. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27256515
Kosc, Helen. (2021). Freedom Amidst Crisis: Experiences of Inmate Re-entry during the Covid-19 Pandemic, and Implications for Support Networks and Services. Master’s Thesis, University of Oxford, Department of Sociology.
Kosc, Helen. (2021). ‘Modern Man’s Predicament: How the Reorganizing of Temporal Rhythms has Influenced Contemporary Consumption Practices in North America’, Social Problems Journal.
Kosc, Helen. (2019). ‘Not Part of the Sentence: An Examination of the Flaws in Canadian Correctional Facilities’, Social Problems Journal.
