Impact case study database

Parke’s research showing an effect of stake size on decision making was highlighted in a 2017 briefing document on FOBTs stake size produced by the independent think tank Centre for Social Justice [5.1]. The research was also cited in a House of Commons Briefing note on FOBTs from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and in detailed advice from the Gambling Commission to the Secretary of State in 2015 [5.2] as well as in a position statement from the Parliamentary All Party Betting and Gaming Group in 2017 [5.3]. Also in 2017, Roberts co-authored a report submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures, highlighting the rise in use of FOBTs as an area for concern that should be considered in future policy making [ 5.4]. In a review to the DCMS, the Gambling Commission drew on Lincoln’s research (together with insights from health and gambling participation surveys and problem gambling support charities) to provide evidence that FOBTs in bookmakers were associated with more harm relative to other gambling forms and endorse a minimum £2 stake [ 5.5]. Subsequent legislation to reduce the minimum stake size for FOBTS to £2 came into force in April 2019 via the Gaming Machine (Miscellaneous Amendments and Revocation) Regulations which was approved by both Houses on 18 December 2018 [5.6]. According to the Gambling Commission’s annual gambling participation survey [5.7], in the year following introduction of the legislation (prior to the onset of Covid-19 restrictions) the proportion of respondents reporting playing gaming machines in bookmakers fell to 0.8% from an average of 1.8% over the preceding 3 years indicating the legislation had been effective in reducing this form of problem gambling.

Parke co-authored several technical reports for independent industry bodies Gamble Aware (formerly the RGT) and the Gambling Commission during the impact assessment period [5.8]. These summarised current knowledge and understanding regarding harm minimisation in gambling and included a series of recommendations for changes in practice to reduce player harm. These measures were aimed at facilitating player awareness (increased provision of responsible gambling information in environment); increase player control (voluntary pre-setting of time and expenditure limits by players; ATM and debit card withdrawal limits); Measures to restrict access (e.g. via self-exclusion schemes); and limits on types and content of gambling marketing. Roberts further co-authored a report [5.9] which was submitted to the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group summarizing her research on gambling related harm with the GMA (with whom Lincoln is acknowledged as a key partner **[5.10]**). Parke’s reports were cited in the Gambling Commission’s and RGT’s formal advice submitted to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport on gaming machine controls and social responsibility measures [5.5]. These included recommendations on setting stake and playing time limits and ensuring operators adequately monitor potentially problematic play and gambling by vulnerable individuals in betting shops.

Online PROTECT research and the CPT has changed CSEM client treatment and case formulation practice and improved staff training and awareness across the offender management sector in the UK and internationally.

Improving CSEM practitioner knowledge, treatment confidence and professional practice

Between August 2013 and February 2020, 20 Online PROTECT workshops were delivered to community treatment providers, social work teams, prisons and probation services both in the UK and internationally (Belgium, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Russia, USA). The workshops aimed to fill knowledge gaps around CSEM offending behaviour and professional practice response and were attended by clinical psychologists, therapists, police, youth workers, and legal professions. Of those, 10 were fully evaluated ( n = 384; pre-post training data). Evaluation data (collated and demonstrated through multiple figures in **[5.1]**) demonstrates a clear and consistent pattern that the CPT training significantly increased attendees’ knowledge about the topic, psychological approach and risk, and confidence to conduct treatment (e.g., 92.4% of respondents reported increased knowledge about CSEMos, [5.1 pdf p.23 ] . Qualitative comments endorse the benefit of the CPT for practitioners (e.g. “ I believe the CPT has great potential to improve the ways in which we work with CSEM offenders.” and “Really helpful tool that I can envisage using a great deal.”) [5.1, p. 60 ]. These benefits to knowledge are evidenced further by evaluations of a new CPT-based training within Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service [5.2].

Online PROTECT research has also been integrated into staff training and treatment programmes internationally. The University Forensic Centre Antwerp, a provider of specialised out-patient treatment for sexual offenders in Belgium, have used the contact-driven vs fantasy-driven offending behaviour distinction to improve client assessments [5.3]. Counselling and Psychotherapy Centers Inc., a national provider of Sex Offender treatment programmes in the U.S.A, have revised their treatment curriculum to align with the domains identified in the CPT [5.4]. The research has also influenced training content and professional practice in the assessment and treatment of CSEM offenders in Canada [5.5].

Shaping HMPPS Response to CSEM Offending

OnlinePROTECT has enhanced HMPPS staff practice in the management of CSEM offenders. Over 800 offender managers and probation staff have been trained to use the CPT in the North East and Midlands division of HMPPS alone and the CPT has now been integrated into the National Training Programme for staff working with individuals who have committed sexual offences, with training evaluations showing a “ highly significant increase in all domains”, particularly “improved understanding of internet based offending” and “development of a comprehensive understanding of a service user’s risks and needs” [5.6]. The research was further integrated into the HMPPS’ training workshop for all staff working with perpetrators convicted of CSEM offending, is featured in training videos on the CPT and implicit theories on the HMPPS Staff Learning & Development Platform [5.2] and influenced the development of iHorizons, an HMPPS’ treatment programme for men convicted of internet related sexual offences [5.7].

Influencing offender support practice in the Non-statutory/ Charitable Sector

OnlinePROTECT has also improved practice in the non-statutory and charitable sectors. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, one of the UK’s leading charities working with offenders to prevent child sexual abuse, report that the CSEM Pathways Tool “assisted clients in their understanding of their offending” and crucially “helped structure individual intervention plans by providing a collaborative formulation between the facilitator and the client” [5.8]. In 2020, Circles UK, a national charitable provider who work with sex offenders to support reintegration back into the community, launched Circles Reboot, for individuals who have committed CSEM offences. Circles UK cite the importance of OnlinePROTECT in the conceptualisation of the programme design and enabling self-assessment to be placed at the core of the programme [5.9].

Informing Public Debate and Prevention

OnlinePROTECT researchers helped develop a joint campaign by the Home Office, Internet Watch Foundation and Marie Collins Foundation to reduce child sexual exploitation by improving young men’s knowledge of the law around Indecent Images. Now in its fourth delivery phase, evaluation results have shown a year on year increase in young men’s understanding of the law in this area [5.10a]. OnlinePROTECT researchers were also commissioned by the Centre for Expertise in Child Sexual Abuse (https://www.csacentre.org.uk/\) to conduct an analysis of interventions for CSEM offenders. Key findings from the report were included in the Centre for Expertise’s submission to the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse’s Investigation into Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks. The report, published on the CECSA’s website between Feb 2018 and July 2019 had 6,263-page views from 3,965 users [5.10b]

UoL research in social and evolutionary psychology has been pivotal in identifying causes of ecological stress on macaques, including stress occurring through human disturbance. This research has fed into multiple national and international strategies to improve macaque welfare and protection, specifically leading to: (1) Change in international trade laws and policy, including a higher protection status for macaques; (2) Development and implementation of national conservation action plans and (3) New wildlife tourism guidelines used by international tourist companies .

(1) Change in International Trade Laws and Policy for Higher Protection Status of the Barbary Macaque [5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4].

UoL research has informed changes to two key legislative documents:

• Increased CITES Protection Status. The Convention in International Trade in Endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is one of the largest and oldest international agreements between 183 governments, aiming to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Findings from two UoL studies have been used as evidence to change the CITES protection status of the Barbary macaque from Appendix II (i.e. threatened species not currently at risk of extinction) to Appendix I (species at high risk of extinction) in 2016 [5.1]. This change means that Barbary macaques become a conservation priority for international organisations and that national guidelines to protect this species in native countries (i.e. Morocco and Algeria) are under stronger international scrutiny. As a result of CITES reclassification in 2016, the European legislation on wild fauna trade (which lays down the provisions for import, export and internal EU trade in specimens) was also upgraded in 2017 [5.2, 5.3]. The increased surveillance arising from these changes contributes to international strategies to reduce the illegal trade of endangered animals, which is the fourth most lucrative global crime (worth $7-$23 billion/year) after drugs, humans and guns traffic (source: World Economic Forum; https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/09/fighting-illegal-wildlife-and-forest-trade/).

• Change in Red List of Threatened Species. Majolo was invited by IUCN and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to become a member of the Barbary macaque special sub-panel for the Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List is the most important international document guiding conservation strategies and laws on wildlife. Four UoL studies, and a MSc project supervised by Majolo, were cited in the reassessment of the conservation status of the Barbary macaque in 2016 (published in June 2020). UoL outputs gave new data, filling a 30-year gap, which allowed IUCN to change the geographic distribution and population size of macaques in Algeria in comparison to the previous assessment of the species (in 2008) [5.4].

(2) Development and implementation of new Conservation strategies by the Algerian and Moroccan Governments [5.3, 5.5, 5.6].

• New Algerian Action Plan and Government Funding. The Algerian Conservation Plan (2018) [5.5] is the first of its kind in Algeria and sets the conservation strategy for the Barbary macaque for the next 10 years. It was produced in collaboration between UoL, the Algerian government and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Majolo & Maréchal were invited by IUCN to take part in the preparation of the Action Plan, contributing both to the assessment of major threats to macaque conservation in Algeria, and to the design of evidence-based conservation guidelines. The final strategy document cites twelve Barbary Macaque Project research studies. Following the launch of this action plan, the Algerian government committed 3 million dinars (£18,000 equivalent) to reduce human-macaque conflicts and protect the species from extinction [5.6].

• Implementation of Moroccan Action Plan. UoL research on macaque social bonds has supported the successful reintroduction of confiscated poached macaques back to the wild within one of the study groups in 2015 [5.3], implementing the reintroduction guidelines set in the Moroccan Action Plan.

(3) New Wildlife Tourism Guidelines used by International Tourism Companies [5.3, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9].

• The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) produced new Wildlife Viewing guidelines in 2013, citing our 2011 research [3.5]. These are practical guides for travel businesses and suppliers of animal experiences, which aim to encourage good practice and eliminate the risks of human-macaque interactions as identified in our research. In 2017 two major international tourism companies – TripAdvisor and Kuoni - pledged to follow these guidelines. As a result of these guidelines and their uptake, these companies are now banned from sale hundreds of tours and experiences in which guests were encouraged to come into physical contact with wild or endangered animals [5.7].

• Based on her expertise on human-animal interactions, Maréchal has been invited to be a member of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group Human-Primate Interactions Section, in 2018. This work is particularly important for the conservation of Barbary macaques to address issues related to human-animal interactions and illegal trade. For example, Barbary macaques are often used as photo prop in primate tourism and become viral on social media, which fuels the international illegal trade of this endangered species. By increasing awareness, the work from this IUCN group is changing the behaviour of professionals working with primates [5.3].

• Activities to change international guidance have been complemented by a suite of public awareness raising activities based on our research into human perception of animal emotions [3.6]. UoL developed an educational quiz reflecting key aspects of human-animal interaction, macaque emotions, and the effect of wildlife tourism [5.8]. This was run online by National Geographic Magazine and via other sites and completed by 57,000 people. In addition, Maréchal has led several successful face-to-face training events at the EU parliament in Brussels, Natural History Museum London and Skegness Aquarium Lincolnshire. These included interactive “hands-on” demonstrations of primate emotions using our developed education tool, and communication of the resulting recommended guidelines for better practice in wildlife tourism. During these training events, a total of 364 quizzes were completed, 616 members of the public from over 40 different nationalities took part (some took part as a group). 90.1% stated that they would intend to behave differently [5.9] should they encounter wild monkeys, now better understanding the difficulties of recognising primate emotions and the associated danger for both monkey and human.