Matrix Insight

Alan Mackie

Alan is Partner for Civil and Criminal Justice at Matrix Insight, and has oversight of social welfare research. Alan joined the group in 2008, following the merger with MHB’s Crime Risk Management team, where he had previously been a partner. Prior to MHB, Alan worked in research at the Home Office Crime and Criminal Justice Unit. Over the past 14 years, Alan has worked on a number of crime and social policy research and evaluation projects for central and local government, including the Home Office, the Office of Criminal Justice Reform, and the Youth Justice Board. He has undertaken work with Drug Action Teams and is currently managing the evaluation of the Cabinet Office’s flagship “Adults Facing Social Exclusion” . Alan has published reports on youth inclusion, youth justice, and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system (including the operation of the courts and sentencing and probation).

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Dr Matt Hopkins

Matt joined Matrix as a Managing Consultant in 2008, as part of the merger with MHB. He has worked on a variety of crime and social welfare-related projects with both MHB and Matrix, including ‘The Scottish Business Crime Survey’ and a two year UK Home Office Crime Reduction Project on the enforcement of financial penalties. He has also worked in collaboration with Cardiff University (with Professor Mike Maguire) on an evaluation of a Targeted Policing Initiative project on Alcohol Related Violence in Nottinghamshire. Matt studied for his PhD at Nottingham Trent University, where he continues to teach as an associate lecturer in criminology. He has also published extensively, on a wide range of criminological issues, in the British Journal of Criminology, the International Review of Victimology, the Security Journal and The International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime Prevention.

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Sophie Gurr

Sophie joined in Matrix in 2004. She has worked on a range of criminal and civil justice and social welfare projects, including: a Private Equity Foundation study on young people not engaged in education, employment or training; a Home Office sponsored study of the Middle Drugs Market; and a research study for the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) to examine the capacity for innovation within the legal aid sector. Sophie worked on a project for the Ministry of Justice to estimate the size of the global market for legal advice, the findings from which she presented at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference. Prior to joining Matrix, Sophie worked at MHB as a consultant. Sophie was awarded a scholarship to complete an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, with distinction, from the University of Surrey.

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Joe Savage

Joe joined Matrix as a consultant in 2008 and has since worked on a number of crime, justice and social policy projects for clients including the Home Office and Youth Justice Board. His recent projects include the design of evaluation guidelines for local criminal justice boards and the review of magistrates courts live links pilots (both for the Office of Criminal Justice Reform). Joe previously worked with a civil society organisation in Malawi where he drew up guidance on domestic violence legislation on behalf of DanChurchAid and conducted research on the relationship between extractive industries, migration and the transmission of HIV/AIDS. He has also worked in the Irish Department of Social and Family Affairs and with the Vincentian Refugee Centre, Dublin. Joe has an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA (Honours) from Trinity College Dublin.

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Kate Gibson

Kate joined Matrix as a Consultant in 2008 and has worked across a range of criminal justice and social policy evaluations. Recent and ongoing work includes an evaluation of the Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) programme for the Cabinet Office and a Rapid Evidence Assessment of the impact of private prisons and probation services on costs and outcomes, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice. Prior to joining Matrix Kate worked in the Community Reintegration department of HMP Brixton and as a Research Assistant at the Open University studying alcohol policy and the night-time economy in Britain and France. She holds an MSc in Criminal Justice Policy from the London School of Economics and speaks fluent French, conversational Spanish and is currently studying Arabic. Kate’s research interests include prison policy; policing; counter-radicalisation; and alcohol policy/ the night-time economy.

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Daniel Northam Jones

Dan is a Researcher within Matrix Insight’s Social Policy practice, focusing on a wide range of social issues and criminal justice areas, as well as policing and security. Dan joined Matrix in December 2008 and has worked on several key projects for the group: an evaluation of the Cabinet Office’s Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) pilot sites; playing a leading role in the evaluation of the Home Office and NPIA’s police protective services demonstrator sites; and as the lead consultant on the MoJ’s Offender Management Community Cohort Study, a longitudinal study of offenders serving Community Orders.

Prior to joining Matrix Dan completed an AHRC-funded Masters, with distinction, in the study of Religion and Society at Durham University; and worked for two months as a Research Assistant (to Prof. Douglas Davies) conducting a detailed study of a mid-sized religious group in the UK. Two conference papers (one at the British Sociological Association’s 2009 Conference) have emerged from this package of work, and a monograph is awaiting publication. Dan continues to write on the social-scientific study of religion, in which he has a particular research interest.

Dan maintains a keen interest in UK and US politics, current affairs and social policy.

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