STEVE GALLANT QGM
Speaker on Extremism, Prisons and Rehabilitation
Lived experience. Real insight. Lasting impact.
Drawing on nearly four decades of lived and professional experience across the UK criminal justice system, Steve Gallant combines personal experience with practical knowledge to explore extremism, criminality, rehabilitation and pragmatic prison reform. Underlying his talks is a powerful true story of resilience and transformation against all the odds. His talks inspire, challenge thinking, foster understanding and create meaningful change.
Trusted by universities, justice organisations and corporate audiences across the UK.
Steve brought authenticity, honesty and humanity to conversations that are often overlooked or misunderstood.
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His insight gave the series real depth and purpose.
Robert Hughes-Penny
Alderman and Sheriff of the City of London
Justice For All Series, Old Bailey
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WHAT I SPEAK ABOUT
Speaking Topics
Powerful talks rooted in real experience. Each topic is tailured to inspire, inform and encourage meaningful change.
Resilience and Personal Transformation
Motivational keynote exploring the journey from serious criminal conviction and life imprisonment to personal transformation and public recognition. A powerful story about accountability, resilience and the capacity for change.
What it takes to succeed against all the odds.
Suitable for: Corporates and fundraising events, conferences or motivational.
Extremism and Radicalisation
in Prison
First-hand insight into how extremist ideologies develop within custodial environments and what allows them to spread. Explores the dynamics of radicalisation and the policy challenges facing prisons.
Steve is regularly invited as a speaker on extremism and radicalisation within the prison system.
Suitable for: Universities, policy institutes, security and justice orgs/events.
Crime, Consequences and Rehabilitation
A detailed exploration of the psychology of offending and the difficult process of genuine desistance and rehabilitation. Examines the belief systems that sustain criminal behaviour and the mindset and conditions required for real change.
Suitable for: Criminology, Sociology and Psychology students, justice programmes, academic audiences.
Choices, Blind Loyalty and the Reality of Crime
From Different Sides of
the Fence
Desistance and Disengagement
Underpinned by the narration of my own story from youth offending and receiving a life sentence to being granted a Royal Prerogative of Mercy, an honest and direct talk for young people about peer pressure, gang culture and the consequences of criminal and group based decisions.
Encourages children and young adults to think critically about loyalty, identity and dependency, with a positive message of hope.
Suitable for: Schools, prisons, HMYOIs, youth organisations and community programmes.
Steve Gallant and Darryn Frost stood together during the London Bridge terrorist attack, intervening in the face of extreme danger. In this powerful joint session, they share their account of that day from two very different sides of the criminal justice fence: Steve as a former prisoner, and Darryn as a former civil servant who worked in the Ministry of Justice.
Together, they reflect on courage, friendship, violence, rehabilitation and the lasting impact of that moment. The session can be tailored for universities, criminal justice conferences, schools, youth programmes, prisons, prison leaver services, public bodies and community audiences.
Steve and Darryn also co-founded Own Merit CIC, a social enterprise providing housing and resettlement support to prison leavers at risk of homelessness. Drawing on that work, the session can also be developed into a practical workshop for people in prison, prison leavers and criminal justice organisations, exploring the real challenges of release, resettlement, identity, change and rebuilding a life after custody.
Suitable for: Universities, criminal justice conferences, schools, youth programmes, prisons, prison leavers, public sector audiences and community events.
A rare dual-perspective exploration of criminal desistance, ideological extremism and the difficult process of genuine personal change.
Steve Gallant and Sohail Ahmed bring first-hand insight from two very different worlds shaped by violence, identity, belief systems and high-pressure group environments. Together, they examine how radicalisation and criminal thinking develop, what sustains them, and what ultimately allows some individuals to disengage.
Suitable for: Universities, schools, criminal justice organisations, Prevent and safeguarding teams, policy institutes, security organisations, conferences and corporate audiences.
Lived Experience Speakers – Prison and Rehabilitation
Connecting organisations with authentic voices from the criminal justice system.
Steve can help organisations access a network of speakers with lived experience of the criminal justice system.
These individuals bring first-hand insight into subjects that are often discussed in theory but rarely understood from the inside. Drawing on his extensive network developed during many years within the prison system and beyond, Steve can introduce speakers able to offer powerful and credible perspectives on a wide range of issues.
Topics may include, but not limited to:
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Serving long or life sentences in England & wales
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The experience of rehabilitation and behavioural change
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Life after prison and reintegration into society
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Women in prison (female speaker)
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Probation, licence conditions and recall
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Parole board hearings and release processes
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Substance misuse and recovery in prison
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Education and learning in custody
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Fitness and staying healthy in prison
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Faith, identity and the role of religion in prison
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Psychological programmes and offending behaviour courses
These speakers can provide talks, panel discussions or workshops tailored to universities, criminal justice organisations, community groups and public policy events.
Steve works with organisations to identify the most appropriate speaker for the topic and audience.