Who We Are

Emeritus Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry. King’s College London.  Medical training in Birmingham.  Psychiatric training at the Maudsley.  Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry 1978-2002. At the Maudsley developed the largest postgraduate teaching centre in Britain for forensic psychiatry, including London’s first medium security service, the Denis Hill unit. Research has included epidemiological studies of prisoners, a controlled study of the therapeutic community at Grendon prison, relationships between violence and mental disorder. An emphasis on education resulted in a large training scheme for forensic psychiatrists and the development of a diploma in forensic psychiatry. With Professor Pamela Taylor co-editor of a large textbook of forensic psychiatry (now in its second edition).  Other books include one on epileptic prisoners, another on violence and another on the therapeutic community at Grendon.  Co-editor Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.

Pamela is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, Cardiff University and consultant forensic psychiatrist in Abertawe Bro Morgannyg and Cardiff & Vale University Health Boards, and forensic psychiatry advisor to the Chief Medical Officer for Wales.

She is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. She leads the Offender Health Research Network-Cymru (OHRN-C) and is a member of the scientific council of the Dutch Expertise Center for Forensic Psychiatry. Her main research themes include understanding associations between mental illness and violence and meeting the needs of alcohol misusing offenders.

She is lead editor of Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health and international editor of Behavioral Sciences and the Law. Her books include Violence in Society (1993), Couples in Care and Custody (edited with Tom Swan, 1999), Personality disorder and serious offending (edited with Chris Newrith & Clive Meux, 2006), Forensic psychiatry, clinical, legal and ethical issues (1993, 2014, edited with John Gunn)  

Janet is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. She has wide experience of forensic mental health services in hospital, community and prison settings. She is a medical member of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental health) and a Specialist member of the Parole Board. She is involved in research on improving the quality of pathways of care for mental health service users, currently on the challenges faced by older service users in stepping down from secure settings.

Andrew is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Cardiff University, Wales, and works as a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with Swansea Bay University Health Board and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust. He is Academic Secretary to the Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry, Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Editor in Chief of the SAGE journal Medicine, Science and the Law. He sits on the executive committees of the Forensic Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Academy of Forensic Sciences, the charity Crime in Mind, and the British Medical Association's Forensic and Secure Environments Committee. He is the former chair of the World Psychiatric Association's prison mental health task-force, a member of the Society of Expert Witnesses, a member of the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, an honorary member of the World Psychiatric Association, and a former member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Working Group on the Mental Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers. He is also forensic lead at the National Centre for Mental Health (www.ncmh.info). Andrew has worked as a psychiatrist in prisons and other criminal justice settings for over 20 years, and has written over 700 reports to the Courts, mainly in criminal proceedings. His clinical and research interests relate to mental health conditions as they present in the criminal justice system, including prisons, courts, police custody, probation, and other places of detention, with a focus on vulnerability and marginalisation.

Rikki Garg has been in practice for over 20 years and specialises in prison, mental health and community care law. He also takes public law challenges on matters arising from these areas of work. Rikki was a Director and practice manager for Scomo until 2014.

Having commenced practice in Criminal law and, as an accredited police station representative, Rikki decided to focus on the rights of people in detention. He has been a member of the Law Society’s Mental Health Panel since 1995.

He was chairman of the Prisoners’ Advice Service, a not for profit organisation, providing legal advice to serving prisoners from 2006 to 2014. .

He was a founding member (and current Chair) of the Association of Prison Lawyers (APL), which was established to ensure a high a quality standard for prison law representatives as well as working with key agencies in the development of this area of law.  

His reported cases include: SSHD v MHRT & BR [2005] EWCA Civ 1616 SSHD v MHRT & BR [2005] EWHC 2468 (Admin) (Wyles) v Parole Board [2006] EWHC 493 (Admin) (Mills) v (1) Home Secretary (2) Parole Board [2005] EWHC 2508 (Admin) R (M) v Ministry of Justice EWHC (Admin).

Recently, Rikki also represented Daniel Roque Hall, a severely disabled prisoner who was then released from prison.

Rikki has also written and trained on issues related to both mental health and prison law. Chambers have rated Rikki a leading civil liberties lawyer described him as ‘a lawyer with a long experience and deep knowledge of the area’.

Paula Murphy is Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at St Andrew’s, Northampton where she works in the women’s service in a medium secure unit.   She did her forensic psychiatry training at the Maudsley in London.  She is an elected member of RCPsych Forensic Psychiatry Faculty Executive. She holds a Masters in Public Health/Health Services Management from the London School Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.   Her interests include clinical leadership and mental health policy and research.  She was a Prepare to Lead candidate in 2010/11 and a NICE Scholar in 2014/5.  She is currently co-editing a handbook on Clinical Leadership and Management for Oxford University Press, in association with the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in the North London Forensic Service.Clinical Director of the National Stalking Clinic and Clinical Director of Turning Stones, a service for assessing risk in sex offenders.Co-author of 20 papers in the specialist literature and several book chapters.

Consultant Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist, North West London FCAMHS

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Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. He was previously University Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychiatry at the Institute of Criminology, and Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. He is a Sentence Review Commissioner and Parole Commissioner in Northern Ireland, and a medical member of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health).