Publications

Generative justice : the cooperative way

Weaver Beth

Generative Justice Beyond Crime and Punishment (2026) (2026)

Generative AI, Critical Thinking and Social Work Practice

Gillon Fern, Weaver Beth, Heron Gavin, Reid Fergus, Dong Feng

Iriss Insights Iriss Insights, Vol 77 (2026)

Generative Justice : Exploring Its Reintegrative Possibilities and the Implications for Parole Reform

Weaver Beth, Corcoran Mary, McNeill Fergus

Parole Futures Rationalities, Institutions and Practices (2025) (2025)

Working with AI: A Guide for Social Workers

Weaver Beth, Gillon Fern Rebecca Louise

(2025)

Envisioning social justice with criminalized young adults

Weaver Beth, McCulloch Trish, Vaswani Nina

The British Journal of Criminology Vol 64, pp. 675-692 (2024)

https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azad052

What does social justice look like and why is it so elusive for criminalised young adults?

Weaver Beth, Vaswani Nina, McCulloch Trish

Probation Quarterly, pp. 47-53 (2023)

https://doi.org/10.54006/UFZQ6628

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Teaching

My teaching interests include criminology, law and penal policy for criminal justice social work; penology and penal change; the dynamics of community supervision, rehabilitation and desistance; risk assessment and risk management in criminal justice.

Research Interests

My research activities are principally concerned with the regulation and governance of the community supervision of people involved in the criminal justice system and the management of those classified as high risk; the intersection between health inequalties and justice contact; and the impact of AI on critical thinking, and human-tech interactions more broadly.

Professional Activities

Our Future Probation Service

Participant

28/4/2025

What do I Not Know? AI, Risk and Probation

Organiser

12/3/2025

AI in Social Work: A Useful Tool or Sinister Innovation

Speaker

5/3/2025

Strategic Themes: Applied AI Workshop

Participant

17/1/2025

Justice Leaders Workshop: AI and Risk Decision-Making

Organiser

1/11/2024

British Society of Criminology Conference 2024

Organiser

10/7/2024

More professional activities

Projects

Socially Progressive AI Lab

Noto La Diega, Guido (Principal Investigator) Miyake, Esperanza (Principal Investigator) Harkens, Adam (Co-investigator) Moncur, Wendy (Co-investigator) Weaver, Beth (Co-investigator) Nikou, Stavros (Co-investigator) Jones, Benedict (Co-investigator) Cunningham, Scott (Co-investigator) Dorfler, Viktor (Co-investigator)

The Socially Progressive AI Lab (SPAI-Lab) is the University of Strathclyde's hub for impactful research, collaborative bids, engagement and networking—shaping policy, technical design and regulation in Scotland, the UK and internationally.

Based in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, SPAI-Lab involves colleagues from all the faculties (Engineering, Science, Strathclyde Business School), bridging humanities‑led approaches and tech‑centred methods. The Lab's research and activities are guided by a commitment to socially progressive deployment of AI that advances equity, upholds human rights and serves the public good.

The SPAI-Lab brings together over 90 experts from across the University and is co-led by Dr Esperanza Miyake and Professor Guido Noto La Diega and is supported by a cross-Faculty, cross-departmental steering committee: Professor Wendy Moncur, Professor Beth Weaver,
Dr Stavros Nikou, Professor Ben Jones, Dr Xi Liu, Dr Adam Harkens, Professor Scott Cunningham, Professor Viktor Dorfler.

26-Jan-2026

Who knows best? Working with uncertainty

Weaver, Beth (Principal Investigator) Belton, Ian (Co-investigator) Dong, Feng (Co-investigator) Gillon, Fern Rebecca Louise (Researcher) Heron, Gavin (Co-investigator) Lagnado, David (Co-investigator) Sanna, Greta (Researcher)

Through interactive workshops, interdisciplinary collaboration, and structured practitioner engagement, we can influence how JSW’s interpret, trust, and act upon information when conducting risk assessments; strengthen AI literacy among practitioners; augment their critical thinking using causal modalities; support responsible and ethical use of AI. This addresses an urgent unmet need for improved professional critical thinking, AI literacy, practical/policy guidance in responsible use of AI, and critical awareness and trust in adoption of AI technologies.

Project partners are South Lanarkshire HSCP (SLHSCP), a Strathclyde Strategic partner, and Social Work Scotland (SWS), a National Professional body. While SLHSCP will directly participate in the workshops they will be key to local impact. SWS are instrumental to achieving national impact across social work and social care.

15-Jan-2025 - 15-Jan-2026

Women’s Problem Solving Court Proposal

Weaver, Beth (Principal Investigator) Vaswani, Nina (Co-investigator)

01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026

The Prison Blueprint: How Colonial Incarceration Forged Modern Racial Injustice

Sanjurjo-Ramos, Jesus (Principal Investigator) Belton, Lloyd (CoPI) Moshfeghi, Yashar (Co-investigator) Izaguirre, Yaimara (Co-investigator) Thompson-Brown, Beverley (Co-investigator) Barcia, Manuel (Researcher) Bardes, John (Researcher) Basques, Messias (Researcher) GONZALEZ ARANA, Roberto (Researcher) Guyatt, Nicholas (Researcher) Gyollai, Daniel (Researcher) Jardine, Cara (Researcher) Mantilla Morales, Valeria Sofia (Researcher) Moss, Kellie (Researcher) Naranjo, Consuelo (Researcher) Piacentini, Laura (Researcher) Sabala, Vanesa (Researcher) Sarmiento Ramirez, Ismael (Researcher) Bhopal, Aneel Singh (Fellow) Surwillo, Lisa (Researcher) Weaver, Beth (Researcher)

This flagship project encompasses various initiatives to examine the historical origins of systemic racism and class discrimination in contemporary criminal justice systems by bringing together historians, computer scientists specialising in AI, criminologists, philosophers, and justice policy experts. Led by Dr Jesús Sanjurjo (University of Strathclyde) and Dr Lloyd Belton (University of Glasgow), our research is centred around the recent unearthing of a unique historical collection: Havana's Royal Prison Logbooks.

Spanning a century (1837-1937), these extraordinary manuscripts from one of the Atlantic's largest colonial prisons contain detailed records of thousands of men, women, and children, both free and enslaved. By connecting this rich historical data with contemporary policy, we aim to directly inform current debates on prison reform and the enduring legacies of racial injustice. The initiative is generously funded by the University of Strathclyde, the University of Glasgow, the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme, the UKRI-ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

The project comprises the following research initiatives:

1. 'Using AI for Tracking Systemic Racism in Historical Carceral Systems', co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, and Dr Belton, 1/02/25 → 31/07/25, funded by a University of Strathclyde's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant, £2,000.00.

2. 'Havana’s Royal Prison Logbooks (1836-1898): Digitisation, Preservation and Dissemination', co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, Dr Belton, and MSc. Izaguirre, 1/10/25 → Ongoing, funded by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme (pilot), £15,000.00, https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP1676

3. 'To contain the diffusion of pernicious ideas. The systematic imprisonment of Black sailors in Cuba and the United States, 1830-1850' ['Para contener la difusión de ideas perniciosas: Encarcelamiento sistemático de marineros negros en Cuba y Estados Unidos, 1830-1850'], co-led by Dr Belton, Dr Sanjurjo, MSc. Izaguirre, in partnership with Dr John Bardes, 1/05/25 → Ongoing, internally funded.

4. 'Using AI to Track Systemic Racism in Historical Carceral Systems', ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), co-led by Dr Sanjurjo, Dr Moshfeghi, and Dr Belton in partnership with Beverley Thompson-Brown OBE, 01/11/25 → Ongoing, funded by an ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Award, £14,769.96.

5. 'Historical Prison Systems in The Atlantic World and Their Impact on the Construction of Contemporary Penitentiary Models', I-LINK Programme of the CSIC and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Scheme, led by Prof Consuelo Naranjo, co-led by Prof Consuelo Naranjo (CSIC-Madrid) and Dr Sanjurjo, 1/01/2026 → Ongoing, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities' I-LINK Scheme, €30,000.00

01-Jan-2025

The Health-Justice Nexus: Crime and Justice as Social Determinants of Health in Scotland

Smith, Kat (Principal Investigator) Stewart, Ellen (Co-investigator) Weaver, Beth (Co-investigator)

01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2029

Penal Supervision in Comparative Context

Weaver, Beth (Principal Investigator)

01-Jan-2023 - 30-Jan-2026

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