COMMENDEE 2025-26: Lynsey, a Manager at HMP Peterborough, is Commended for the effect she has had on safety and rehabilitation in the jail, through the strategies she has introduced, her one-to-one work with prisoners, the support and training she gives colleagues, and the external partnerships she has developed.

This nomination was drawn up by Niki Audsley – Communications Manager, HMP Peterborough; and signed off by Chris Evans – Deputy Director, HMP Peterborough. It followed an initial recommendation from Head of Safer Custody, Andy Barringer.

Introduction

Lynsey has transformed safety and rehabilitation at HMP Peterborough through her exceptional use of Restorative Approaches, gang management, and violence reduction strategies. She investigates violent incidents to uncover root causes, supports both victims and perpetrators, and ensures referrals are followed through. Lynsey built partnerships with police and charities like Catch 22, creating early warning systems for gang-affiliated prisoners and improving staff training. Her work addressing weapon possession through direct engagement and data analysis has enhanced safety for all. Her dedication, innovation, and collaborative leadership have had a profound impact across the prison and wider criminal justice system.

Reasons for the nomination

Lynsey has demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation in promoting safety and restorative practice at HMP Peterborough. Working closely with operational staff, she ensures that every violent incident is thoroughly investigated to identify underlying causes—whether they stem from personal triggers, gang pressures, or wider social issues. She then facilitates appropriate interventions, including Restorative Approaches (RA) conversations and referrals to specialist departments such as substance misuse, housing, or family services. Her holistic, trauma-informed approach ensures both the person responsible and the victim receive tailored support.

Lynsey doesn’t stop at intervention—she builds sustained relationships with prisoners, follows up on referrals, and ensures that wraparound support is effectively delivered. She also supports victims of violence, coordinating services across the prison to provide meaningful, restorative outcomes. Crucially, Lynsey works beyond prison walls, linking with external agencies such as housing providers and care-experienced personal advisors to ensure continuity of care and reintegration planning.

Her passion for restorative practice has led to tangible change across Sodexo-operated prisons. Lynsey has played a key role in expanding RA services across the estate, delivering training and mentoring staff at other sites, and sharing best practice to embed a culture of respect, accountability, and resolution.

When HMP Peterborough began receiving prisoners from Luton Courts in October 2024, Lynsey responded to the sudden increase in gang-affiliated individuals with exceptional foresight and collaboration. She secured training for frontline staff from Catch 22, a charity specialising in gang violence, equipping them with essential knowledge on gang behaviour, signs, and support pathways.

She also established effective partnerships with other establishments including HMP Thameside and HMP Bedford, fostering a culture of intelligence-sharing and early intervention. Most notably, Lynsey developed a robust working relationship with Bedfordshire Police’s Operation Bosun, a unit focused on gang crime. Through this collaboration, she created an “early warning” system to identify and prepare for incoming high-risk individuals. Weekly meetings between Operation Bosun and the prison’s Police Liaison Officers—initiated by Lynsey—have significantly enhanced public protection and internal safety. Her model is now being replicated with Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire Police as a benchmark of best practice.

In response to a growing number of weapons finds linked to gang culture, Lynsey took proactive action. She personally engages with any prisoner found in possession of a weapon, seeking to understand their motives and fears. By recording this data and identifying patterns, she has enabled the prison to conduct targeted searches, intercept potential sources, and intervene early. Her ability to challenge behaviour while showing empathy has contributed directly to reducing violence and making both staff and prisoners feel safer.

Lynsey’s dedication, strategic thinking, and collaborative approach are transforming the culture at HMP Peterborough. Her work not only addresses immediate risks but creates long-term impact—reducing reoffending, improving relationships, and paving the way for safer communities. She is an outstanding candidate for this award and a true leader in her field.

Support for the nomination

“Lynsey is a Director’s dream! Innovative, energetic and committed, she has at times single-handedly driven the Restorative Approaches model and influenced countless prisoners and staff along the way. She refuses to be held back and where she sees a need, or a gap in provision, or an area where her work could be beneficial, she gets stuck straight in to great effect. She has established a number of partnerships, all focussed on rehabilitating those in our care, very often targeting those most in need, most marginalised, and most endangered and dangerous. Lynsey epitomises HMP Peterborough’s commitment to changing lives and delivering effective rehabilitation.”
Ralph Lubkowski, Director, HMP Peterborough

“Lynsey is proactive and works tirelessly to speak to every prisoner who appears on the briefing sheet who has been involved in violence for them to take into consideration restorative approaches, bringing together the perpetrator and victim in a controlled and facilitated environment. The information that Lynsey provides as part of the RA post incident needs assessment is invaluable and used by many others including the rest of the safer custody team to create a picture of current issue the prisoners may be facing, including debt and gang issues.”
Janine Banwatt, Security Analyst, HMP Peterborough

Sign off

Lynsey’s dedication and passion for ensuring that she does everything possible to make the prison environment a safer place to live and work is extraordinary. She has single handily built external relationships to improve the flow of information from the community into the prison and her stakeholder management is excellent.

I can honestly say that Lynsey has had such a positive impact on the lives of a number of individuals at HMP Peterborough to the point where one of our ex-prisoners now goes into prisons around the country giving lived experience motivational talks.

Chris Evans, Deputy Director, HMP Peterborough