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David Honeywell
David Honeywell is a British author, criminologist and reformed offender. He is currently researching educational pathways to desistance: A study of reformed ex-prisoners self change through higher education.

In 2011, he published his autobiography, Never Ending Circles which was inspired by Britain’s riots. He links his personal experiences of crime, prison, and mental health issues suffering depression from an early age to criminological and sociological theories. He talks about the classical criminological theory of ‘the born criminal’ and how this relates to modern society. He talks about juvenile delinquency and deviance and how this relates to his own upbringing.

David led a completely directionless life which involved going in and out of court, prison, and psychiatric hospitals for depression, drifting from town to town and from job to job. And also committing relatively petty, mostly impulsive, but occasionally violent crimes such as criminal damage and assaults. In 1983, he was first convicted at 20-years-old, to a 30 month youth custody sentence most of which he spent in Durham Prison.

Then in July 1995, he was sentenced to a five year prison sentence which would be the turning point for him. He admits, he had massive social and personality issues to address, but while sitting in his cell, he found he had a flare for writing, so using an old typewriter he started submitting articles to magazines. Around the same time, he also signed up for a Social Sciences Foundation course through the Open University.

Seven years after going to prison, he had graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s degree in social research methods. During his time as a student, he continued shaping his journalism skills writing for the university’s student newspaper. Then in 2005, his first article for a regional newspaper appeared in the York Press. Since then David has contributed articles to the Evening Gazette, the Northern Echo, York Press, Sunday Sun and various magazines.

In 2007, his article, Our Heroes about his grandfather’s heroics on the Somme, appeared in a book, Times Past: The Story of York, written by former York Press Deputy Editor, Bill Hearld. And in 2008, David was commissioned by Redcar & Cleveland Council’s ‘Business Enterprise Team’ to write news releases about local business start ups. In 2009, he launched his own newspaper, Coastal View to give local businesses their own medium.

Most recently David has written for the Prison Education Trust, Open University, is a columnist for UNLOCK, the National Organisation Of Reformed Offenders and is a visiting lecturer on the university circuit.

Published Works
Books:

(2013) Honeywell, D.M. Deadly Encounters. Nocton Publishing

(2012) Honeywell, D.M. Doing Time in the United Kingdom. In: Richards,S ed(s), Marionization: High Security, Solitary Confinment, and Super-Max Prisons. Southern Illinois University.Honeywell, D.M.

(2012) Honeywell, D.M. The Man Whose Skills Saved Millions. Nocton Publishing

(2011) Honeywell, D.M. Never Ending Circles. Nocton Publishing.

Selected articles:

Honeywell, D It’s never too late to learn. Association for the Teaching of Psychology. (2008)

Honeywell, D (2007) Our Heroes. In Hearld, B. The Story of York: Times Past. York Press: Black and White Publishing.