I spent a total of six years as an Independent Custody Visitor in two different London boroughs. I was authorised by the Home Office - and subsequently by the Metropolitan Police Authority - to check on the welfare of detainees in police custody. It’s a vital scheme, developed following the Brixton riots in the 1980s, which is designed to enhance police/community relations. My interest in the criminal justice system continues through my involvement with the London Action Trust (www.lat.org.uk) - a charity that aims to reduce offending behaviour and divert people away from crime. I joined the board as a trustee in 2003.

Between 2000 and 2002, I was a governor and trustee of Hillcroft College (www.hillcroft.ac.uk) - the UK’s only residential college for women.