Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content
No photo of Sarah Brooks-Wilson

View Scopus Profile

Sarah Brooks-Wilson

Dr.

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2237-8744

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Sarah is currently supervising the following PhD candidates:<br/><br/>• Fawaz Almalki — The institutional experiences of orphans in Saudi Arabia (with Sam Weston and Andy Jolly)<br/>• Ben Sereda — Young people and public space (with Liam Wrigley and Dom Moran)<br/>• Kerry Urquhart — The geometry of crime in the context of youth justice service delivery (with Steve Case; full ESRC funding secured)<br/><br/>Sarah welcomes enquiries from prospective PhD students. She can offer supervision in the following areas:<br/><br/>• Youth justice<br/>• Crime and place<br/>• Young people and social deprivation<br/>• Mobility and socio-spatial adversity<br/>• Barriers to mobility in everyday life

20102026

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

A central theme of her work is the impact of institutional mobility requirements on marginalised groups. Research in schools revealed that children leading complex lives in low-income households face the greatest travel burden when accessing education (Brooks-Wilson and Snell, 2010). Research in the youth justice sector has shown that adverse outcomes arise when service access requirements exceed young people's capabilities, raising implications for policy and equitable service delivery (Brooks-Wilson 2020, 2023).

In terms of project leadership, Sarah has co-produced a resource with marginalised young people on service access to support journey planning and problem-solving (Brooks-Wilson, 2023). This resource was distributed to around 50 youth justice teams across England and Wales and has been shown to improve communication and planning while reducing personal safety risks. More recently, she contributed evidence to a youth justice service delivery restructure through research with young people on service access safety (Brooks-Wilson, 2025). She has also worked with Independent Travel Training Teams to build an evidence base on the value of travel training and empowerment for young people with additional needs, including a submission to the Public Accounts Committee in 2025. Sarah is currently collaborating with Nachammai Lakshmanan on Reimagining Situational Crime Prevention, a project that revisits Ron Clarke's pre-emptive, place-based approach to crime reduction, and extends it by engaging with young people as missing voices, and encompassing mobility alongside place.

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Social Science, Youth Justice Geographies and Convicted Young People's Mobilities, University of York

1 Sept 2010 → 31 Jan 2016

Award Date: 23 Sept 2016

Master of Social Science, MRes Social Policy: Social An Exploration into the Implementation of the National Framework for Sustainable Schools, University of York

1 Oct 2009 → 31 Jul 2010

Award Date: 31 Jul 2010

Bachelor of Social Science, Social Policy, University of York

1 Oct 2005 → 31 Jul 2008

Award Date: 31 Jul 2008

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 1 - No Poverty
    SDG 1 No Poverty
  2. SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
    SDG 2 Zero Hunger
  3. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
  4. SDG 4 - Quality Education
    SDG 4 Quality Education
  5. SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
    SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  6. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  7. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
  8. SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
    SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
  9. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Sarah Brooks-Wilson is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles
View full fingerprint

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Explore network further
View all 16 research outputs
  • 1 Engagement event
  • 1 Other
  • 1 Conference, workshop or symposium
  • 1 Guest lecture or Invited talk