Neima Hussein 

Neima Hussein is an alumni of the Criminology Socio-Legal Studies and Ethics, Society and Law program in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Neima participated in the Community Research Partnerships in Ethics at Trinity College, where she was paired with the Sentencing and Parole Project (SPP) a Toronto-based organization that serves Black Canadians by advocating for more equitable policies and practices that may address the overrepresentation of Black people in the legal system. 

Based on her time with SPP, Neima undertook an original research project exploring the use of Enhanced Pre-Sentence Reports (EPSRs) in the Ontario legal system. EPSRs seek to address how the marginalization of Black people, convicted of crimes, has left them more vulnerable to criminalization and victimization. Moreover, the Reports aim to offer a more full and holistic dialogue on a convicted person’s life, to inform more equitable and culturally appropriate sentencing decisions by judges. 

Supervised by Professor Ahmed Allahwala, Department of Human Geography, University of Toronto Scarborough, Neima explored the role EPSRs play in Canada as a legal tool and what purpose they serve in promoting just and equitable sentencing decisions by judges. In doing so, Neima learned about researchers’ deep consideration of ethics when dealing with deeply personal information. Reflecting on her experience, Neima shared “This project was my first in undergrad where I had primary creative control over my topic, scope, and argument. It was the project where I felt I experienced the most growth as a researcher.”

As Neima now pursues her Master’s of Social Work at the University of Toronto, she remains very interested in incarceration’s impact on mental health and would like to continue to pursue community-based research projects. 

Research Type(s): Community-Engaged Research, Research-Directed Courses