Audenshaw Dad’s life at the heart of new criminology book

William ‘Billy’ Mahaffey, dad of two has just celebrated the launch of Bringing Criminological Theory to Life: A Lived Experience Approach to Crime and Desistance, unveiled at Manchester Museum on Thursday 11th September.

The book, four years in the making, blends Billy’s powerful life story with expert analysis from leading criminologists to shed fresh light on crime, punishment and the possibility of change.

“I never imagined that my life story would be used in this way,” Billy said.

“Some of it is painful to relive, but if sharing it helps someone better understand these issues, or feel less alone, then it’s worth every moment.”

Billy’s journey has been anything but straightforward. A troubled childhood led him into fights at school and eventually to prison. He battled addiction, served in Afghanistan, and spent time behind bars. But along the way, there were turning points - in education, in sport, and in building strong relationships - that helped him rewrite his story.

“I kind of went [to school] when I could be bothered,” he recalls in one of the book’s opening poems, crafted from his own interviews. “But I loved English. It was the one class that kept me going.”

Later, in prison, education took on a new meaning:

“I was doing me education. Got me level 1 and 2’s in English and maths… I even bought a chair to do my essay properly. I wanted to do a good job with it.”

Those moments of self-belief marked the start of a transformation that would see Billy move from instability and addiction to becoming a student, an acclaimed athlete, and now, the subject of a landmark study in criminology.

The book, co-produced with academics from The University of Manchester and the University of Liverpool, uses Billy’s life as the thread that connects scholarly chapters on everything from the challenges faced by military veterans in the justice system to the role of sport in helping people stay away from crime.

“This book is a new kind of criminology,” explained Dr Emily Turner, Senior Lecturer at The University of Manchester. “It breaks down barriers between academic theory and human experience, and makes the case for a more compassionate, context-aware understanding of crime and change.”

Each chapter begins with Billy’s own words, often stark and unfiltered. From the chaos of frontline service - “I don’t know who’s coming at me, I don’t know where I’m walking to” - to his determination not to return to prison - “I wasn’t changed, me, in jail. I’m not going back to jail.”

The book’s launch was marked by an event at Manchester Museum, hosted by the University of Manchester’s School of Social Sciences, with contributions from Billy himself and the team of criminologists who helped bring his story to life.